The Purpose of a Heart
by Fated-Shadows
Summary: Old noob fic. When the leader of a mysterious group asks Bakura to become an assassin for him, he accepts for the sole purpose of protecting Yami’s life. But the outcome is far more deadly than it seems, and right and wrong are no longer clear.
1. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 01

**The Purpose of a Heart**  
Chapter One

**Prologue:**

In 1945, on August 6th and 9th, America dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, in an attempt to end World War II, and getting what some considered 'revenge' for Pearl Harbor. Though the two bombs killed many people-most of whom had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor-it was still considered the best and least deadly way of ending the war once and for all. Sure enough, the war ended, and everyone said that there would never be another war like that one again.

Even though it ended over 50 years ago, that particular war was, in an unexpected way, about to invade people's lives again, changing some of them forever.

**Chapter One:**

He was surrounded by darkness.

"Ow…damn, my head hurts." Bakura mumbled to himself. "What happened to me…?" He could feel some kind of hard floor under him, and that was when he realized his eyes were squeezed shut, which explained the lack of light. As he regained consciousness, his head just hurt worse. Blearily opening his eyes, he was met by a fuzzy vision of a ceiling above. The room was dim, but not totally dark and so there must be a window someplace. And it was then, as he gained his bearings, that he realized one more particular thing, this one more important than the others: his hands and ankles were tied.

Struggling to sit up, he eyed the knots that tied his feet together. They weren't your average knots, whoever had tied him up obviously wanted him incapacitated, as if knocking him out hadn't done the job.

"Where the hell am I?" Bakura grumbled. "And why am I here anyway? Dang, when I get my hands on whoever did this…" He groused for a few more minutes before balancing himself on his toes and pulling his tied arms under his legs, lithely bringing them in front and started messing with the ropes. The knots were good, but after some pulling, he had them undone. Standing, he smirked.

"I don't know who the nut is that attacked me, but they need to learn that I don't appreciate being tied up." The ropes on his hands would have to wait, he couldn't get them off, but now at least he could walk around.

Ignoring the pounding in his head, he tried turning the knob on the door, but it kept slipping out of his already sore fingers and anyway, it seemed to be locked. The room was pretty much empty, he couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be used for. The light in the room was coming in from under the door, but when he tried to look under the door, the thick mat of carpet outside blocked his view. Obviously he wouldn't get any clues there.

With a sigh he sat back down, leaning against the wall.

"I guess I'll just wait it out then." He said aloud. "Someone's gotta come and look for me soon, I mean, any self-respecting kidnapper normally comes to check on his victims."

Of course, the question of who had kidnapped him came back to his mind with that. All he'd been doing, the last he remembered, was going for a walk. He'd been thinking about going home to eat lunch, walking down Fifth Street; he knew that for sure because that was the same street that had the apartment building of…someone…on it. Someone that Bakura found himself thinking about often and it only made him want to kick something out of pure frustration. He often thought about that person without wanting to. And he'd been so deep in thought, trying not to think about the person he was thinking about, that obviously someone had been able to easily jump him. This didn't cheer him up much.

Suddenly, the lock in the door clicked, and it swung open. Bakura stared, surprised, into the face of a man with very short brown hair and brown eyes. He looked like a common person, if it weren't for his extremely muscular build, which was unnaturally proportioned and rather grotesque. Bakura was sorely tempted to mention the guy should lay off steroids, but thought better of it, seeing the pistol the man had in his waistband, and the wired look of a drug-addict in his eyes.

The stranger noticed Bakura's free feet and grinned. "Well Bakura, crafty little sucker, aren't you? You probably think you're so clever."

Bakura scowled and raised an eyebrow. "Who the hell are you and how do you know my name?"

"Everyone knows you, Bakura."

"Oh?" The eyebrow raised higher.

"Of course, after all, didn't you recently win that shooting tournament?"

Bakura thought back. Well, it was true that he had recently won such a tournament. He'd been bored and so he'd taken his Uzi down to the shooting range to pick up some polish and gotten talked into the contest after some moron had challenged him. And, incidentally, won in a big way, but he couldn't figure out what that had to do with this guy. Anyway, it hadn't been any big deal. All he'd won was a ribbon, no money at all, so if this was a jealous competitor, then the guy really needed to get his priorities straight.

"Well, yeah, that would be me." Bakura finally answered shifting his arms uncomfortably. The rope was irritating his wrists. "So you know who I am, great. Who are you?"

"Since it'll benefit us both to know, my name is Blair."

"Do you come with a last name?" Bakura asked.

"No one cares about last names in this business." The guy called Blair answered. "And anyway, we're not going to be in company for long."

"That's good." Bakura spit, thoroughly annoyed. "I can't stand idiotic muscle-heads with macho guy names like Blair that don't have last names."

"You might do well not to cop an attitude with me." Blair said, his smirk fading. Bakura set his jaw.

"Well, excuse me mister sunshine, but I think I've rather got a right to cop an attitude right now, seeing that you conked me over the head, kidnapped me, tied me up, left me in this insanely dusty room, and you did all that before I got to have lunch."

"You think you're funny, don't you?"

"Well, no. Personally, I don't find any of this all that funny." Bakura replied calmly. "So how about you untie me, let me go home, and we never see each other again?"

"I'm afraid it won't work that way." Blair said, folding his arms. "You can't be allowed to go home. My boss wants a word with you, and has a very generous offer you'd be a fool not to go along with."

Bakura said nothing, but now his eyebrow was raised so high it vanished into his spiky bangs. What the hell was this guy talking about? Perhaps he was insane, maybe this was an asylum and the guy was an escaped inmate.

"Your boss?" He finally asked.

"Yes, my boss. Soon to be your boss too."

"Listen, dude, I don't know if anyone told you or not, but no one controls me." Bakura said with a short laugh. "I have no boss. I'm master of myself. Besides, I'm not interested in whatever offer he might have. So I'll just be going-"

"You'll be going to see my boss." Blair said suddenly, clipping a chain over the rope that bound Bakura's hands.

"Geez, someone needs a good sedative." Bakura muttered. Blair yanked the chain and Bakura nearly fell over from the pull.

"You're coming with me. This way."

Bakura huffed and resentfully allowed himself to be dragged out of the room, into a long hallway. Blair took a right and pulled him along several doors. There was a funny smell in the hallway, sort of an office-perfumey-soapy-business smell. It seemed that they were inside your average office building. He stopped at a door at the far end and knocked.

"Come in."

Opening the door, Bakura was pulled along into a large office. At a desk sat another man, probably middle aged, but this guy was no where near as muscular as Blair was. His hair was light blond, and eyes were blue. He looked American. Still, there was something very powerful in his gaze-as if he had power and he knew it. Bakura couldn't help but admire the guy a bit.

"Ah, Blair. So you were obviously successful."

"Yes sir."

"Very good, you can just leave him with me to discuss business."

"Yes Sir." Blair bowed quickly and, letting go of the chain, backed out of the room and closed the door. Bakura frowned in confusion. The man at the desk looked American but spoke with no hint of an accent. He stood up to greet Bakura.

"Well now, Touzokuou Bakura, I've heard a good many things about you."

"Yeah, apparently a lot of people have." Bakura grumbled.

"Well come here, sit down. We can't conduct business with you half-way across the room."

Bakura walked over and sat. The man opened a desk drawer and pulled out a good sized knife, bringing it down and slicing the ropes off of Bakura's wrists. Surprised, Bakura pulled his hands back and rubbed the raw skin.

"Um…thanks." he said, as the stranger put the knife away.

"You're welcome. You must excuse Blair, he's fond of gathering his captives, and I can't say anything against it if the man enjoys his job."

"So you paid him to hit me over the head?" Bakura asked, no longer liking the blond-haired "boss".

"Yes, I did. I had to get you here somehow."

"Speaking of which, where is "here" anyway?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Tch. That's all anyone tells me around here. It's none of my concern. If you guys want something from me, you might at least tell me what I'm not supposed to be concerned about."

The man motioned toward the window. "You're welcome to have a look outside if it'll ease your mind, but I don't think it'll help you."

Bakura eyed him in suspicion and pushed the blinds aside. All he saw were a lot of trees. And, far off in the distance, a glow. Such as one that might indicate a city. "Where the hell are we?"

"We're outside of Domino, don't worry your spiky white-haired head about it." The man said mildly. "This is my office building. Five stories tall, including an elevator, gym, dining hall…all the luxuries one could need. And no other people around to bother me. Most people believe this area to be off-limits to trespassing because of poison gas."

"You built an office building out in the middle of the mountains?" Bakura laughed. "I'm starting to think this _is _an asylum. Both Blair and you seem rather unhinged. Who builds a freaking office building in the mountains?"

"Someone that likes his privacy, that's who." The man answered coolly.

Bakura shrugged. "Suit yourself." He returned to the chair and leaned back in it. "So…why am I here in your nature retreat, exactly? I doubt you brought me here just to show off the view."

"I have an offer for you, Bakura."

"That's nice. But I don't take offers from nameless strangers." Bakura replied, just as coolly.

"You can refer to me as Boss, same as all the others. Or Master, if you're really into that sort of thing."

"Yeah, well, I've got a problem with that-" Bakura stopped dead as the man produced a large rifle from someplace under the desk. To Bakura's eye, it looked like a Smith and Wesson. He blinked down the barrel with some approval. Well, at least this guy had good taste in firearms.

"You'll call me one or the other." The man said, his tone instructing that Bakura had no choice. Bakura shrugged.

"Awright. I respect the firepower, Boss, Master, One-or-the-Other." Bakura replied, purposely throwing in the jab.

"Good, now we can get down to business." He returned the gun to its hiding place and opened another drawer, spreading four pictures over the desk. "See these people here?"

Bakura glanced over them. "And your point of showing me these is…?"

"You, Bakura, are going to be an assassin for me, and these four people live in Domino. You will kill them." Bakura furrowed his brow in surprise.

"Why the hell am I going to do that? Can't you kill them yourself, you're the one waving the gun around."

"You recently won a very prestigious shooting contest, with a sub-machine gun nonetheless. Those can be hard to aim. I need someone as good as you to kill for me. I am skilled with the gun myself, but I have this tendency to make such a mess of it. You, on the other hand, are a clean shooter, and could easily commit the crimes without being caught."

"Look, I appreciate that you like my shooting, that's great." Bakura said, standing up. "And it's real nice of you and your fan club to try to recruit me. But I don't kill people unless they piss me off, okay? I don't know these people, and I've got no reason to hurt them. Besides, I'm a thief at heart. Not a killer."

The Smith and Wesson returned to the man's hand, and he pointed it directly at Bakura, the barrel touching the collar of his shirt. "Have a seat, Bakura."

Bakura sighed and sat back down. "Okay, okay. Listen, what if I didn't want to take your job? What if I decided to decline?"

"Let me ask you something, Bakura. Do you have any friends? Family? Wife?"

Bakura blinked guardedly. "What's it to you?"

"Well, I'm offering you a choice. You kill the people I tell you to kill, or I'll kill the people close to you."

"I don't have-" Bakura began, when the Boss reached under his desk again and Bakura closed his mouth, expecting the gun to come back out, but all the man produced from the drawer was a single photograph and a wallet that looked very familiar. "Hey, that's mine!"

"Maybe you'd like to tell me who this person is." He said with a smug sort of grin, holding the picture up. Bakura felt his heart drop to someplace around his feet.

"N-no one. He's no one-" Bakura cursed the human nature known as blushing, as he could feel the redness spreading over his face.

"We don't carry pictures of people around in our wallets if they're not important to us. And judging from your reaction, I'd say this person does mean something to you. What's his name?"

"None of your business." Bakura snapped.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll just dispatch Blair to kill our mystery friend here…since he doesn't mean anything to you-"

"No! Wait-" Bakura found himself standing. "Okay, fine. His name is Yami. Yami Mutou.He's a friend of mine. Happy now?"

"No, I'm not. Where does he live?"

"Fifth street." Bakura said shortly.

"Excellent." The Boss arched an eyebrow. "So, is he important to you? You seem to be blushing. How amusing, someone so seemingly coldhearted, here you are with a picture of your boyfriend in your wallet, how sweet."

"Get to the point!" Bakura nearly shouted, having had just about enough of this mental torture.

"Just getting a feel for your weaknesses." The man said calmly. "And I've found just the one I needed."

Bakura silently eyed him.

"You see Bakura, people live and die only because of motivations. We live because we've got a reason to. Well, the only reason we die is _because_ we've got a reason to die. And we'd kill if we had the motivation, wouldn't we? That's how the world works, everything is based on how much we're willing to do. And everyone has at least one thing, the thing they'd live, die, or kill for. So I just needed to find the thing that motivates you."

The white-haired boy was still silent, piercing eyes watching the boss warily.

"Do I see a look of defiance?" The boss asked with obvious fake surprise.

"Gee, I wonder." Venom dripped from the words as Bakura bit them off. It was bad enough that he'd been deprived of lunch, conked on the head, tied up, and threatened with a gun-even if it _had_ been a nice gun-but he'd had quite about enough of this psycho's interest in Yami. The one stupid person in the whole world that Bakura would secretly admit some…discomfort…around, and the "Boss" just HAD to make a big deal out of it, didn't he? What was this, the Drive-Bakura-Insane Festival? If it was, so far everyone had been celebrating spectacularly. He half expected to hear fireworks being shot off any moment.

"Hmm." The Boss answered mildly, studying a photograph, obviously the one of Yami, before tossing it onto the desk. "Well, you're welcome to have this back, since you seem so attached-"

Bakura snatched the picture and stuffed it in his pocket, fuming.

"You can keep it, that way you know to stay in line. After all, one false move, and that picture will be all you'll have left of your boyfriend-"

"HE'S NOT- MY DAMN- BOYFRIEND!" Bakura roared, feeling the rope of his patience snap. "Okay, I get it! If I try to tell the police about you wanting these people dead and wanting me to kill them, you'll kill Yami. YOU CAN STOP CROWING ABOUT IT ALREADY! Now can I go home?!"

"I hate to ruin your theory, but you're wrong on one account." The Boss replied. "This is your home now. I'll walk you to your room."

"I can't just go missing, you know, people will wonder."

"Let them wonder. You can't leave this place Bakura, now that you work for me. Like all my other employees, you will live here, we'll provide you with food and medical attention if you need it. You are, of course, free to go wandering around the building as you like, but you're not to be leaving it unless it's on assignment."

Bakura wasn't crazy about being confined to the five-story building, but had since decided it would be wise not to argue. So he tried a different tactic:

"I have an apartment you know, the manager won't like it when I don't pay my rent-"

"Your manager has been paid off to keep quiet. Any other questions?"

Bakura scowled. "Okay, what about my Uzi? It's the only gun I like to use and if you want me to shoot-"

The Boss hefted a briefcase-like object onto his desk.

"We've already retrieved it from your apartment." He said, clicking it open to reveal that all the parts of the gun were there. Closing the case, he slid it across to Bakura. "Here you go. If you'd like any other things from your place, I'll gladly send someone to pick them up. Is there anything?"

"No." Bakura mumbled shortly, grabbing the handle of the case and setting it protectively beside his feet. "Not right now."

"Excellent, now, as I said, I'll walk you to your room. I'm sure you'll find this place very comfortable. Only my employees live here, and I've got every luxury for you to enjoy. I'm rather pleased really, it's been so long since I had a decent shooter. Oh, and Bakura, I've got cameras all over this building. If you decide to betray me, I'll find out." He smiled benignly.

Betrayal? Could that be what this was all about? Bakura caught a funny look in the man's eyes when he said that. But since Boss didn't seem to want to reveal why those people were to die, Bakura didn't see himself much in the position to argue. He wondered how long it would take for the other people he knew to wonder why he'd gone missing. He wondered if any of them would care…particularly if Yami would care, but he said nothing about it aloud as they walked along the hall and stopped in front of a door that the Boss opened with a key.

"Here's your room Bakura, make yourself comfortable." He said with a smile that was sickeningly friendly, holding out the key as if he were offering Bakura the keys to a new car.

"Whatever." Bakura muttered under his breath, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Two Weeks Later:

"At some point last night, American college student Cynthia Manson was murdered in her apartment by an unknown gunman. Shell casings indicate that the murderer used some type of sub-machine gun. Officials are hard at work on the case, yet as of this afternoon, no leads have turned up as to the motive or whereabouts of her killer. Anyone with information is encouraged to call our anonymous hotline…"

"You did a good job, Bakura." Bakura looked up from the small TV to see Blair leaning against his door frame.

"Oh? You care?"

"I sure do, since I only get part ofmy paycheck if you do a good job in your business. The Boss is exceptionally pleased. I doubt he's ever had as good an assassin as you've proved to be."

"Am I supposed to be proud or something?" Bakura grumbled.

"You better be, kid. You've got a talent for killing." Blair waved and walked off, slamming the door behind him. Bakura returned his eyes to the TV. On the screen, Cynthia's parents were shown outside their house in America, crying. Bakura wrapped his arms around his legs and lowered his chin to rest on his knees. He hadn't known this Cynthia Manson, he didn't know why she deserved to die, and although it surprised him, he felt bad about what he'd done. Beside the set lay his Uzi and his eyes fell on his beloved gun.

"Maybe I don't want that talent anymore." He said quietly, and reached into his pocket to pull out a rumpled photograph. It was the one of Yami that the Boss had given him back. He gazed at it.

"What's the point?" he muttered. "Why am I bothering to do this? I'm just a common murderer now, I killed that girl and I didn't even know her. She never did anything to be punished for. Even if I keep Yami from getting hurt and I get out of here, he'll never like a good-for-nothing killer. He already thinks I'm a psychotic evil spirit. Well…okay, so I _am _a psychotic evil spirit…but still, now that I've become a murderer, Yami'll never like me. I shouldn't bother protecting him."

He narrowed his eyes and sighed. "Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I'd do anything for that friendship-loving, honor-obsessed, good-of-mankind freak, and I know it. Even if he ended up hating me. Even if I never saw him again. I'd still do anything. Damn emotions! I don't understand myself. There's no point having a 'heart' if no one will believe I have one. I'm not sure I even have one. But still…Yami's one of the only things I'd do this for…"

The door opened and someone behind him said, "Very touching."

Bakura shot his head up to see his Boss standing in the door, holding an envelope.

"What the hell do you want now?!" Bakura snarled, annoyed at having been caught spilling his deepest secret to himself.

"Manners, Bakura. I have your paycheck, except here we pay in cash. As promised, it was 100000 yen for the first killing. Your money is in here, you're welcome to do what you want with it. You did quite well, a raisewill be in order. If you think you need more, be sure to tell me. And I can always set up a bank account for you, if you'd like." He set the envelope on the small table beside the door and left, closing the door with an ominous thump.

Bakura ignored the envelope and averted his eyes back to his picture for a moment with a sorry look. Getting up, he switched the TV off and carefully he set the photograph under his pillow. Suspicious, he made sure his door was locked, before turning out the lights and getting into bed; pulling the sheets over him to block out the view of his room, wishing he could just block out everything that way.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Ha! A new story for a coming new year. This one should be pretty interesting if everything goes as planned. I hope you'll all enjoy it! It's part mystery, part action, part romance, part drama, part humour, part…well, a lot of random things. And it's going to only get more and more jumbled, as my fics usually do. ::niko::

So, some important things to know before you get too attached, just in case you need to stop: First, the "Boss" is an OC. He's no one from the show, he's just going to be the creepy villain. Every good fic needs a creepy villain, and like my other villains, this guy is pretty deep. Blair, too, is a creepy villain. (A creepy villain that I don't like.) Second, this fic is set in Japan in its customary place. I'm just using the English names. I like the English names. This isn't a crime. Third, the obvious main pairing is shounen-ai, and flaming won't change that. Please just don't flame in general. It's rude, annoying, and disheartening to authors. And SHOULD be punishable by death. ::grumbles::

So yes-Bakura has a 'crush' on Yami, if you will. Haha, he's so cute! (Bakura's crush I mean, that's what's cute. Well, Yami and Bakura are both cute in and of themselves, but that wasn't the point.) I'm a bit worried about OOC-ness on Bakura's part, but for the most, I like him this way so even if it is OOC, I'm keeping him this way. Those who don't like it, stuff it and go find a different fic. Those familiar with my way of writing Bakura and like it, you all will be happy, because he's pretty much the same as I usually write him. That's right! The smart-mouth, destruction-happy, and ever lovable guy with the wicked sense of humour has returned to my writing and this time, he's got a whole fic dedicated to him. Oh boy.

I think 100000 yen turns into roughly $1000. I'm not sure though. Just go with it. I heard that things with a bunch of zeros can be very roughly translated from yen to dollars by knocking off two zeros.

Okay, now here's the real surprise. In order to save document space-and my own pride-I'm going to write short Author's Notes and short replies. This is my New Year's Resolution. ::collective group gasp:: Yes, we'll see just how long this proposition lasts, won't we? You read it right here, I'm going to keep the AN's and replies to a minimum. Well…I'm gonna try. ::laugh:: But really, things were getting ridiculous before. My last fic was looking at three-page long AN's and the fic itself very much suffered for it. The end was rather sloppy, and I'm determined not to do that with this one.

I'm off to work on Chapter 2! ::yawns:: Well, maybe a nap first, I was up late working on this one night. Oyasumi.


	2. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 02

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Two:

"Hey, have any of you heard from Bakura lately?" Joey asked curiously as he tossed the dice and moved his game piece forward. He and his friends were at Ryou's apartment, playing Monster World on his custom game board. The TRPG was by and far much more fun now that they weren't risking their lives on the outcome.

"Not for the past couple weeks." Ryou said. "It's weird, I called to invite him to come play, but there was no answer."

"I thought Bakura loved to answer the phone." Mai said, puzzled as she rolled the dice. "He said he always answered just in case it was a salesman."

"That's why I think it's so weird." Ryou replied.

"Maybe he went on vacation." Yugi suggested.

"For three weeks?" Tea asked. "He doesn't have _that_ much money."

Yami wasn't joining in the conversation, because he was wondering if maybe that murder a week back had something to do with Bakura's sudden disappearance. The news had reported the girl had been killed with a sub-machine gun, and everyone that knew Bakura knew that he had one beloved object in his life, his Uzi…a sub-machine gun. Yami'd decided to give Bakura a second chance when he'd asked Mahaado to incarnate him into his own body too, and was now wondering if that had been the best idea, given the current circumstances.

Still, he truly thought Bakura had gone good enough, at least, to live in society. He couldn't see the evil spirit killing anyone unless they'd done something to make him mad. And while it was possible that Cynthia had done something that Bakura found worthy of punishment, he'd thought Bakura had a little more self-control than that.

"Yami, it's your turn to roll." Joey said loudly. Yami jumped and snatched the dice.

"Right."

* * *

"Tonight you'll shoot Mr. Foley." the boss tossed the photograph of the man named to Bakura. "You're to kill him the same way you killed before. Payment is 200000 yen now if you do it perfectly. He has a wife. If you want, shoot her too."

Bakura scowled, but put the picture in his back pocket anyway. He'd been dreading this, the second murder. He didn't like killing for no reason, and he really hated doing anything that he was 'ordered' to do. If it weren't for the fact that Yami would be in danger, he'd have already quit. And blown up the Compound too, (his personal nickname for the business building); he imagined the scene with satisfaction.

"Any questions?"

"No." He muttered, breaking out of his daydream and reaching for the shoulder strap to clip to the Uzi. "I got it. I'll be back in a few hours."

Blair was watching from the corner of the door. Bakura had long since figured out that since Blair was partially in charge of hunting down the people the Boss wanted, he got paid according to how well other people did. Bakura was almost tempted to accidentally-on-purpose screw up just to annoy the body-builder, he'd developed a serious dislike of the man. A dislike even more than that of the Boss. Some of his hatred came from how Blair had been the one who kidnapped him, but mostly he hated the way the guy strutted around as if he were king of the world. The steroids that Blair constantly downed to keep his muscular physique only enhanced his egocentrism, and Bakura despised people who were that stuck on themselves.

He briefly contemplated taking the Uzi and mowing down both the men, but that idea passed. He didn't know if anyone else in the Compound knew about Yami. If they did, no doubt killing their leader would result in payback. Though Bakura privately figured no one would miss Blair, he still decided that a sudden retaliation was a bad idea. With a sigh he adjusted the strap over his shoulder and left the room to go do his job.

* * *

A few hours later found him perched in the branches of a tree, several yards from the house, but Bakura wasn't worried about the distance. By now it was pitch black out, and although the house itself was lit, the trees outside the fence were bathed in shadows, the perfect place to hide.

Checking the glowing face of his watch for the time, he shifted on the branch, gun in lap, a small pair of binoculars trained on a large window. He'd been waiting for quite a while and as of yet, he'd seen nothing. He wondered how much longer he'd be waiting.

Then there was a movement from inside and he saw a woman walk past the window into another room. A few moments later, a man entered the room with the window as well and Bakura zoomed the binoculars in. It was the same person from the photograph.

There was no guarantee how long the man would remain in the room, so Bakura didn't waste any time as he lifted the Uzi from his lap and peered down the barrel. Luck was on his side, the man was still in the room, he appeared to be talking to the woman. A pang of guilt was trying to force its way into Bakura's mind, he shoved it back and locked in on the side of the man's head. He actually felt sort of bad about what he was going to do.

"Sorry about this, Aaron." He muttered under his breath. "But as far as I'm concerned, Yami needs his life more than you need yours."

With one last check on his target, Bakura pulled the trigger. He felt the gun recoil, but the shot was silent due to a silencer. The shattering of the glass window seemed louder in his ears than the gunshot had been. Within a split second, he saw a spray of crimson liquid and the man fell to the floor, not moving. He heard a scream from inside, and jumped down from the tree, slipping around the back of it and heading off through the thick trees of the empty lot, toward the back roads. He didn't feel like hanging around, or shooting the woman. He'd done his job, and that was it. Emerging from the lot, he climbed into the open door of a dark station wagon. A younger man, in his twenties and whose name was Louis, stepped on the gas of the get-away car and sped down the empty back road just as sirens could be heard in the distance, heading for the house.

"Everything go well?" Louis asked in curiosity. Bakura shrugged.

"If you count killing someone in front of his wife, 'going well', you could say everything did. Slow down Lou, if we're caught speeding I'm sure the police would be really interested in my Uzi."

The get-away driver slowed. "Okay your highness."

"Don't cop an attitude with me Louie, I'm not in the mood." Bakura muttered.

"Sor-rey, Mr. Sunshine." Louis said. "What's eating you?"

"Maybe because I just killed someone, wouldn't that make you a bit snappy too?"

"Me? Sure, it'd freak the hell out of me. But I thought you were into the killing thing. That's what Blair told me."

"Don't trust a thing that guy says. His job seems to be to recruit new 'employees' for the Boss's fan club, for whatever reason. He spends his whole life kissing-ass just to make his boss happy." Bakura spit. "Besides, he was probably high on pills and mouthing off."

"Bitter much?"

"You can't talk Louis, you agreed to take this job. I got forced into mine."

"But you're obviously good at it!"

"Just cause a person's good at something doesn't always mean they want to do it. I'm only in this…whatever it is…for one reason, and that's to make sure that…well, just to make sure a friend of mine doesn't get hurt."

"That's a noble cause." Louis said, looking somewhat impressed. "You're a good friend."

Bakura didn't reply to that at first. Then, "No, no I'm not. I'm a really bad friend, actually. I've tried to kill the people a few times and to be honest, sometimes they still annoy me. I'm really just doing this for this one person…"

"Yami?"

"How do you know about Yami?!"

"I hear things." Louis grinned into the rearview mirror. "Word is that he's your boyfriend or crush or something."

"Crush only." Bakura admitted sullenly. "He's kinda the person I tried to kill the most often."

"Boy, you really are a mystery. In love with someone you tried to kill."

"It's complicated." Bakura defended.

"I dunno, it's still a way more noble cause than mine."

"Why are you here?"

"To save my own backside. Blair kidnapped me and they told me take this job as a get-away driver or die. So I just agreed and went along with it. I'm an agreeable sort of person. School wasn't going so well, and my girlfriend had recently broken up with me for this idiot baseball player." Louis stared glumly ahead. "I'm really not brave or anything."

"I'm not being brave either." Bakura replied.

"Yes you are, protecting your boyfriend-"

"He's not my boyfriend! He actually very much dislikes me."

"Fine, your impossible crush then. Anyway, you're still protecting him rather than yourself. That's brave."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"You want your old life back, huh?" Bakura asked.

Louis was silent for a moment as he drove. Then, "Yeah. College wasn't the most fun place in the world, and the food sucked, but I'd rather be there with my friends, or at home with my parents. They've got to be really worried about me. I feel bad about what I might be doing to them. I'd really like to see my family again." He paused. "So, what's your story? How'd you get here?"

"Because I was a show-off." Bakura said dryly. "I was at the shooting range since I was bored, there was some hot-shot with a blue ribbon there, bragging about how he won some contest or another. So I challenged him to a little shooting contest with a few of his friends, we all put up some money, he put up his fancy ribbon. I beat the pants off them, took his ribbon and my earnings, and split. Next thing I know, I got these crazy people coming after me and forcing me to become an assassin for them."

"That's a tough break." Louis said sympathetically.

"No kidding."

"I think it's neat though that you're so talented." Louis continued. "I heard that machine guns are hard to shoot. You just sort of shoot and hope you hit something with bullets going all over the place."

"First off all, an Uzi is a _sub_-machine gun. Secondly, mine is still its original semi-automatic make. One trigger, one bullet each time. You've obviously been watching too many movies with machine guns in them. And third, I always hit something. And that something would be my target." Bakura felt obliged to defend his pride. "'Course, it was that fact that got me stuck in this dump."

"So we're both here because we got forced into it." Louis replied with a sigh. "Our old lives don't really matter for much, I guess."

"Hmmn. Guess you're right, we are in a similar boat. Tell you what. If I figure a way out, I'll bring you along with me." Bakura offered.

"Seriously?" Louis looked over at him.

"Yeah, why not." Bakura shrugged. "You seem like a decent person."

"Thanks!...But still, what're the chances? We're just stuck in this till we die, get killed…or until the Boss gets whatever he wants out of all this madness. I can't figure it out myself. I heard a rumor it's got something to do with revenge."

Bakura had no reply to that, and Louis filled up the next few minutes with a bunch of facts he knew, everything from how to hotwire a car to the exact coordinates of the Compound.

"Why did you memorize the coordinates?" Bakura asked, eyebrow raised.

"I was bored." Louis replied cheerfully. "I like to memorize things." Bakura shook his head.

Louis turned into the dark garage under the Compound and parked. "Hey, that stuff could come in handy someday."

"If you say so."

"What a cynic. See you later Bakura."

"Later." Bakura got out and walked over to the elevator, pushing the button for the third floor and getting inside, feeling glum, his get-away driver's previous words burned into his mind. Was that how it was going to be? Stuck in this little five-story building, killing people till he himself died? Maybe the four pictures the boss had shown him were only the first people to die, maybe he had a whole stack more waiting. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he exited the elevator and wandered down the hall to his room. According to his watch, it was only a little after eleven. He fished the key to his room out of his pocket.

"Very good." Bakura froze with the key in the lock as he turned to see the boss walking down the hall. "Breaking news story, fifteen minutes ago Aaron Foley was shot and killed. No witnesses, no evidence." He held out an envelope. "Your pay."

"Thanks." Bakura muttered curtly, taking the envelope and opening the door to his room. "Good night."

He closed it firmly behind him and fell backwards onto his bed, tossing the envelope of money in the general direction of his dresser and the TV set. Shrugging out of the Uzi's strap, he set the gun down and rolled over to bury his face in the sheets and tried to block out the past few hour's events. Why him…why, of all the stupid people that could shoot guns in the whole world, did it have to be him that got chosen to be a hit man?

He sat back up and emptied his pockets of their pictures and binoculars and everything else, dumping his assorted possessions into a drawer and, after cleaning it all out and polishing the metal bits, returned the Uzi to its case, shoving it under the bed. All the while he thought about what Louis had said, about a rumor that the reason this multi-millionaire had gone through so much trouble to set up this whole following was because of a revenge wish. Revenge on who? For what? There was still no connection between the two people he'd been told to kill, and if killing them was the goal, he couldn't figure out what all the other people were doing in this building. During dinner in the dining room on the first floor, he could count at least thirty different people. They couldn't all be assassins. Hadn't the boss told him he was the only one? There was something very strange going on in this place.

He considered what Louis had said about bravery. He certainly didn't feel brave. Brave people didn't murder strangers for no apparent reason. Although Bakura wasn't much of an expert on the subject of goodness, he was fairly sure that killing people didn't qualify. And besides, however forgiving Yami might be, this was the sort of thing that couldn't be forgiven. Those people were dead and no amount of apologies would bring them back. It was just depressing.

With a huff, Bakura sat up. "If I ever want a chance with Yami, being these people's 'employee' sure isn't going to help. Just let them try to hurt Yami, I'll kill them all before that'll happen." He said surely to himself as he left the room and made his way toward the boss's office. "That's right, it'll be a cheerful day in hell before I let _that _happen." He banged on the office door, and the boss opened it with a look of mild surprise.

"Hello Bakura. Do you want something?"

"Yeah." Bakura replied stubbornly. "I want out of this job."

To Be Continued…

* * *

NOTE!! I posted my Yugioh humour fic today as well, but since I wrote it in 'script' form, fanfiction dot net won't host it, so I posted it elsewhere. It's basically a long crazy fic full of suggestive humour and a lot of random jokes. And some pointless violence too. It is yaoi based, just to warn you. Here is the link to it: Enjoy, and please review it!!

Author's Notes:

Poor Bakura…his crush hates him. (At least, he figures as much.) Why do we fall for the people we can't have? That's a question for the masses. I think some big company should host a world-wide contest: see what the most popular reasoning is behind humanity's falling for people we know don't like us/don't know we exist/can't be with. Hey, maybe I should host the poll myself, at least on a small scale. Awright then, everyone that reads this, tell me your reasoning behind it!

Here I go again, my infamous reader polls. It's a curse.

I'm sticking with my resolution for once, so here are replies!

You Know Me: xD Your reviews never fail to make me laugh. Yay for the Uzis! Nope, since Bakura is still at the point where he figures that Yami hates him, it's safe to say they don't live together. This is actually set rather soon after they got separate bodies from their hosts. I'm sorry to make you fight for your clothes…I'll see what I can do for Michelle-chan's birthday. ::wink::

Hershey-Kiss: Well, it wasn't your advice alone, but you did help. I had you and someone else request a Yami/Bakura fic, and I wanted to write one too, and I actually began this fic several months ago…it's been sitting in the 'dead' bin for all this time. But it's now revived, and partially thanks to you. Be proud! ::niko:: Eek, the lovable smart-aleky Bakura…he's so fun to write for. I'm glad you like it! And yes…layers are definitely going to be in here!

Well, I go back to school tomorrow. ::sigh:: I was sooo enjoying the time off, too. Writing every day, sleeping in, watching movies…the good life! Oh well. Each day is one day closer to when KidWB will play episodes 163 and 164. I hope this New Year treats all of you well, and I'll see you next week!


	3. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 03

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Three

Bakura waited for an answer for what he thought was quite a long time. The way he saw it, the boss could either get freaked out by his fearless demand and let him go, (which Bakura didn't expect anyway), or he could say no and threaten to kill him if he ever so much as hinted at getting out again. But neither of those things were happening, which puzzled him.

"Did you hear me?" he finally asked.

"I heard you."

"Well?"

"Bakura, Bakura, Bakura." The commander said, shaking his head as if he were disappointed. "You should know the answer. What did I tell you the first week here, what did I drill into your head constantly?"

"That you would kill Yami if I didn't stay in line." Bakura replied guardedly.

"Exactly. Would you really put Yami in such danger? It's not nice to treat your friends so lightly."

Bakura blinked. The calm approach, he hadn't expected the man to use that tactic. He'd half expected to get his head blown off, but instead here he was being scolded!

"I'm very disappointed in you Bakura, because this request of yours either means you have a very short-term memory, or you don't care as much about Yami as I thought. You are of course free to walk out whenever you like. No one is keeping you here against your will. But you have to be aware of the consequences if you decided to leave."

Bakura scowled. He was using the same voice that people often used to talk children into or out of things.

_I've got five thousand years on you, chief. _Bakura thought with annoyance. _So you'd just better lay off this little-kid routine._

"So are we clear?" The boss's words brought him back to the present. Bakura set his jaw and backed out the door.

"Whatever." He grumbled, slamming it behind him and nearly running into Blair outside. The body-builder had the empty-eyed look of a drug addict whose high had worn off hours before, and he offered only a courtesy glare to Bakura, who gave him a salute back and stomped off toward his room.

Blair peered into the office. "What did the white-haired kid want?"

"To get out of his job." The boss replied calmly.

"Why the hell didn't you shoot him! Teach him a lesson for asking stupid questions so late at night."

"Shooting him would have no effect on a person like that." The man said, sitting down in his swivel chair and flipping his computer on. Blair blinked sleepily. The boss pulled a bottle of pills out of his desk drawer and tossed them toward him. "Here Blair, a man brought these for you. Ordinarily I'm not very keen on your addiction, but you're so pathetic looking right now, and I need you awake tonight."

Blair caught the bottle with a wide smile. "Thanks boss."

"Whatever." He printed out a few sheets of paper. "Take these down to the office for me."

"Will do."

"Well then, get moving. You can't stand around all night, there's business to attend to."

* * *

"Damn stuck up prick…" Bakura grumbled as he locked his door and got dressed for bed. "He's nothing but an overdressed, haughty, insane billionaire. He thinks he's like, king of the world or something just cause he's got that idiot Blair at his service to keep everyone else in line. Guy probably couldn't even shoot a house at close range, much less a person."

He glared at the shadows on the ceiling. "Bet Mr. bossman wouldn't be so high and mighty if I had something on him. I should have taken my Uzi. It'd be no match for his Smith, and Blair would have been no help."

After an hour of cursing the boss, Blair, everyone in the building, and the damn mosquito buzzing in the corner, Bakura felt calmed down and ready to think straight. So yeah, outright asking had been a bad idea. Cross that one off the list. That didn't mean he'd messed up too badly. He was pretty sure the boss hadn't been mad enough to follow through with going after Yami yet, which gave him time to find a new way out. His griping had given him an idea. Maybe, someplace in this building, there was some information that he could use to blackmail the boss. He liked the idea of the blond-haired man being on the receiving end of the threats for once.

* * *

The next day found Bakura prowling the fifth floor. He'd decided to do a complete search of the building, and starting at the top was his first choice. Right away he figured out that the whole floor must belong to the boss alone, because there were about twenty different types of video cameras guarding one door. He tried knocking on it, but got no answer. There was only one other door on the whole floor, and that was an empty storage closet. Nothing up there.

By lunch Bakura had successfully explored every unlocked and unoccupied room from thefifth tosecond floor, and had found nothing of any use. Mostly a lot of bedrooms. He figured the useful stuff would probably be behind any of the locked doors, but picking the locks was out of the question. Cameras patrolled every inch of the halls and someone would see him. His outlook not improved by his findings, (or lack thereof), he ate his sandwich in the dining hall in silence, scowling.

Blair walked by at that moment and saw him sitting there, and made his way over. He'd been delving into his new pills and bench pressing in the gym on the third floor, and was feeling untouchable. Tormenting the new guy assassin would be fun.

"Bakura." He said in greeting, flexing his biceps so that the white-haired kid would get a good look at his muscles, which he was exceedingly proud of.

"Idiot." Bakura returned with a nod, and took another bite of hissandwich.

"Hey, do you always have to be so rude to me?"

Bakura chewed thoughtfully. "Yes."

"Where's the respect? I know more about this operation than you ever will."

"Congratulations."

"Doesn't it make you wonder…you know, why you're here? What the boss is planning?"

"No, I'm more the philosophical sort. I spend my time wondering if there really is a God. Cause if there is, he must have been stoned when he created you." Bakura replied. "Then again, if the task fell to me to have to create you, I'd like to get as high as possible beforehand too."

Blair frowned. "I don't like your attitude."

Bakura raised an eyebrow.

"It's about time you learned some respect Uzi-boy. You might have the boss fooled, but I know that you're up to something. I saw you lurking around on the video cameras today. You're trying to find out what's going on in here, aren't you?"

"Maybe." Bakura said with a sly smile.

Jutting out his jaw, Blair contemplated what else to say. Normally people were afraid of him, and yet here Bakura was, calmly eating his lunch and toying with his answers. The assassin seemed to even be enjoying his interrogation.

"Well, you'd better stay in line." Blair finally warned. "Because I'm going to be keeping an eye on you and if you snoop too much, you'll regret it."

"Thanks for the warning."

"Because if I see even one hint that you're out-stepping your place-"

"I got the point." Bakura swallowed his last bite and stood up, clapping Blair on the shoulder. "And it's been wonderful talking to you today, too." He said, turning and walking out the door. Blair frowned after him. Something was going to have to be done about Bakura, he thought. The kid was just too arrogant for comfort.

* * *

Bakura figured that Blair was probably going to keep his eye on the video cameras, (wherever the viewing room was, Bakura hadn't figured out yet), so he returned to his room to waste time till nightfall. If he was caught, it would seem suspicious, but there was less a chance of _being_ caught at least. And anyway, maybe he could claim sleepwalking.

At 11:00 pm, Bakura got out of bed and quietly opened his door. The hallway was pitch black except for small red lights along the ceiling, marking the location of smoke detectors, cameras, and a thermostat. He waited till his eyes adjusted to the darkness and started down the hall quietly, tiptoeing down the stairs to the second floor. There were a few lights on through the door to the dining hall, and Bakura decided to avoid it, in case someone was still in there. So he instead took the stairs down to the first floor. It was on that floor, at the far end of one of the halls, hidden around a corner, that he found another staircase he hadn't seen before. He assumed this one must lead to the parking area of the compound, but when he took it, it instead led him to another dark hallway that consisted of only one door.

This hallway was remarkably free of little red lights marking cameras, and it was also free of any windows. The only light came from a white storm light at the end of the short hallway. Bakura wondered if he was underground. Maybe this was a basement. It looked old, the walls and floor were stone instead of plastered, and it was cold. He shivered. Even he, who liked mysterious dark places, got a chill from the one. It felt like the hallway of a prison.

Glancing around, he slunk up to the door and tried the knob. Locked, of course. Fishing into his pocket, he came up with a wire he'd brought along just in case he needed to pick any locks.

_Well, I guess this is one thing that Louis came in handy for. _He thought as he twitched the wire around inside the keyhole. It had been the chatty college student that had described to Bakura exactly how and where the tumblers in locks were usually located and the wrist movements needed to pick them. Hot-wiring cars, picking locks…Bakura wondered if Lou had ever considered a career in burglary. He'd have to ask him about it the next time he saw him.

With a light click, the knob turned and Bakura slowly pushed the door open, in case it might creak. The door opened silently, and Bakura stepped into the new room, looking around in surprise.

It was full of computers.

Or things that certainly resembled computers anyway, Bakura decided as he took a few steps closer to examine them. An assortment of flashing colored lights provided enough luminescence to see that the boxy structures were certainly some type of technical machinery. On another table sat more average-lookingPCs. The room almost resembled a military-like place.Sort of like the kind that he'd recently seen in a movie about a top-secret government organization, Bakura mused. That was what they reminded him of.

The machines were situated in what looked like a U-shape around the outside of the room, and in the middle was a long table. Bakura walked over to see the table contained stacks of paper. And someone's empty coffee cup, he observed. So this room had obviously been used recently. Picking up one of the papers, he held it to one of the green lights above a button on a computer to try and read it, and happened to raise his eyes to the screen. There, in the reflection off the screen, he could see the open door to the room.

And someone was standing there, silhouetted in it.

Dropping the paper, he spun around to see Blair standing before him, a triumphant look on his face. Before Bakura could move, Blair stepped forward and grabbed the collar of his shirt with a grin. Bakura tried to struggle back, but couldn't move an inch.

_This is pathetic, he's only holding me with one hand! Damn steroids. _Bakura cursed to himself.

"Well, Uzi-boy, you obviously didn't listen to me at lunch today." Blair said gleefully. "Because you are _way _out of your line."

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well, Bakura's really done it now. And it's only the third chapter! That boy sure does know how to find trouble. ::shakes her head:: Is everyone enjoying how the story is heating up? What's up with this mysterious new room, eh? It is a bit confusing, to be sure, but that's good. It's supposed to be confusing! Anyone confused? Or at least curious? Good, that means it's working!

Sorry these are such short chapters, I'm trying to extend the suspense, and doing that means I have to limit the chapters to a certain number of scenes. ::niko:: They will each be about 4 pages in Microsoft word, not counting author's notes. There will of course be a few exceptions, but otherwise, this is about as long as they'll be.

I meant no insult to anyone's religion with that crack about God being stoned above. So if you were going to get all up on your soapbox, please don't, it was just an insult being made toward Blair and Blair alone. And really, the guy needs to be insulted.

Replies!!

Hershey-kiss: Aww, you're special! You know, if it hadn't been for you asking for a Yami/Bakura fic, I might not have decided there was enough support to continue writing this. Yep, it's a ghost fic! Back from the dead end of my Yugioh file! Eek…Bakura's situation is definitely like that, ne? Poor guy, it's not good to be in a no-win situation. Hopefully he and Yami can work things out. You're right, this fic has a lot of moral conflicting issues. Those make for some great sls. Thanks for your input for the survey. ::niko:: I've had little luck in getting people to take my poll, so your contribution definitely helped!

You Know Us: Aww, well, I'm glad Michelle figured out the difference. Bad guys make good targets and good guys…or, semi-good guys at least…make bad targets. Poor Bakura is just stuck in a no-win situation. But that, among other conflicts, makes for some great plot lines, and is the start of a good mystery. ::niko:: Of course, he and Yami's relationship is a big one of those conflicts. Hopefully things will work out for the two of them when all is said and done. But! With many chapters between the end and now, there's much that can be done. Aa, you noticed the facts! I thought you might. Hehe. Good, I'm glad someone got the factual part of it, I feel it my duty to educate readers on Uzis, since they appear so often. ::Uzi enthusiasts unite::

I hope you enjoyed the latest installment...even though I wrote some of it while I was sick. I still am sick, by the way. Bleh. It sucks, and I really hope this cold is gone by my birthday. (The 16th!) Rest assured however that I'll be updating as consistantly as possible. I may switch the updating days from Mondays to Fridays, but that remains to be seen. For now, expect new chapters on Mondays anyway. So, I bid you aideu for now. Have a good week, anddon't get abducted by aliens, I need all the reviews I canget.


	4. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 04

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Four:

There was a dull crash as Blair slammed Bakura backwards toward the table. Tripping, Bakura found himself on the floor, backed up against one of the larger machines.

"I see those steroids must be doing their job." Bakura muttered as he started to get to his feet, only to be grabbed and flung back, against the wall this time.

"Don't give me any of your lip!" Blair hissed. "I can have you and your boyfriend killed for you being in here."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Bakura protested as Blair tossed him back again. He sunk to the floor, gripping his arm, which had been unlucky enough to hit the side of one of the machines. He didn't think any bones were broken but he suspected a nasty bruise.

"I don't care who or what he is, I can kill him just the same, just as soon as the boss gives me the right of way."

Bakura glared.

"So, Uzi-boy, what are you doing in here?" Blair asked.

"Would you believe I was checking for termites?" Bakura replied. His comment was met with a kick from Blair, who obviously didn't think it was funny.

As Bakura picked himself up off the floor, Blair watched, arms folded. He was standing between Bakura and the exit to the room, and from the look on his face, he wasn't going to let the evil spirit leave the room in one piece. Bakura glanced around, weighing his options.

_If only I still had the Millennium Ring. _He thought. _I'd dispatch this guy into hell and never have to deal with him again. Drugs don't match up to magic at all. Dammit, I should have brought my Uzi with me too. Why do I always leave it behind at the worst times? That's it, if I get out of here alive, I'm never leaving the thing again._

His thoughts were brought to a halt as Blair snatched the front of his shirt again.

"Bakura, I asked a question, and I want a _serious _answer. Why were you in this room?"

"What does it matter if you're going to kill me anyway?"

"Because, I want to see what sort of nippity little quip you can come up with in your defense."

"I told you, I was checking for termites." Bakura replied.

"Don't you realize I could kill with one hand right now?"

"And don't you realize just what sort ofdamage termites can wreck on a wooden table?" Bakura asked gravely. "If you want that table to last much longer, you're going to need some help-"

"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

"Then get a sense of humor."

"You shouldn't be making jokes! I could kill you!"

"And I'd like to see you explain to your boss exactly why you killed his expert assassin, when there's still two people left I have to murder."

Blair faltered. Bakura had a point.

That falter was all the time Bakura needed. With a lithe twist, Bakura used Blair's arm to launch himself toward his face and pulled back his good arm to punch. In doing so, he freed himself and landed beside the door.

"You son of a bitch-" Blair swore, one hand clamped over nose and left eye, which were bleeding. As of yet, no steroid had been created that would stop bleeding before it began.

"Well, now you have one hand free." Bakura said. "You said you only needed one to kill me with."

"I'm going to do a hell of a lot more than kill you! I'm going to go after Yami, yeah, I'll kill him, then I'll kill you-"

His tirade was brought to a halt as Bakura's eyes flashed and he moved forward. Blair held out his free hand to block off any attack, but all Bakura did was clamp his hand down on Blair's shoulder. A fiery pain shot through him and he dropped to the floor, writhing in surprise. Pain? How was it possible he was feeling pain?

Bakura eyed him coldly. "You even _think_ of hurting Yami and I can guarantee you'll be the one dying."

"What the hell did you do?!" Blair gasped, gripping his shoulder now.

"Nerve in your shoulder. Everyone knows it's there. Don't you watch the movies?"

"I didn't think that really worked!"

"You need to educate yourself. It's there, it's effective, it's not very pleasant, and obviously your cheap steroids don't work."

"I swear Uzi-boy, I'm going to go to the boss first thing tomorrow, I'm going to tell him you were in here tonight and then you won't be so cocky."

"Tell him all you like. But maybe you'd also like to explain to him about why _you _were down here in the middle of the night?"

"I saw you on the cameras!"

"The boss allows me free run of the building." Bakura said coolly. "First day here, he told me I wander around all I wanted. So therefore, you can't punish me for walking around."

"But I caught you down here."

"Yeah, and you said you were going to kill me, need I remind you? Making the threat is enough. You don't have the right to kill me, no matter where I might be found, and you just thought that I didn't know that."

Blair glared, hatred reflected in his eyes. "Oh yeah? Well I'll tell you what, smartass, I _do _have the right to go after Yami. And believe me, I have no qualms about killing him even against the boss's wishes. I don't like gay guys. And I don't care what a freak like you might say you'll do to me."

Bakura narrowed his eyes.

Blair got to his feet, watching Bakura guardedly. "Yeah, that's right. I've got no qualms at all. So you'd better be the one 'watching it'. You got lucky tonight, I won't tell anyone you were in here if you don't tell the boss about what I said. But I guarantee, next time I catch you out-of-bounds…you won't be so lucky." He strode past Bakura and out of the room.

Bakura stood in the doorway for a long time. _That's right. Go ahead and walk away._ He glanced back toward the machines and considered grabbing a few papers to take back to his room. But that would give away that he'd been in the room, and while he could use psychology on Blair to keep him from hurting him, he was sure that the boss, (who was much more intelligent than his lackey, by far), would not be so easily talked down. So he set the lock, closed the door, and returned to his room to nurse his bruised arm and to think of something to do.

* * *

The next morning, when he walked into the dining hall, Louis appeared out of nowhere and slapped him on the arm. Bakura winced, his bruises still sore despite having tied them as tight as he could.

"'Morning." He finally greeted. Louis grinned broadly.

"Oh, it's a good morning alright! Have you seen Blair yet?"

Bakura yawned. "Frankly Lou, I really don't want to see that guy so early in the morning."

"Well, I saw him just now, and he looks like he got into a scuff with a brick wall last night and the wall won."

Bakura raised an eyebrow, pleased to hear that his damage had been substantial.

"Really?"

"Yeah man, his nose is like, broken I think, and his left eye is all bloody and black and he freaked out when this guy tried to tap him on the shoulder. He like, whirled around as if he thought the guy was going to attack him or something-" Full of gleeful energy, Louis spun around to demonstrate. Bakura nodded.

"I see."

"I wonder what happened to him…" Louis said thoughtfully as he followed Bakura to the coffee machine. "I mean, I didn't think anybody in this place could actually get to him in a fight. But then, someone else said that he got so high on his drugs that he jumped off the roof cause he thought he was invincible."

Bakura couldn't help it, he had to snicker at that. "Aw, too bad it didn't kill him." He said, studying the buttons on the machine and selecting one. Doing so caused him to turn his sore arm and he winced again, grabbing it suddenly.

"Hey, are you okay?" Louis asked in concern.

"I'm fine."

"Oh, good. _Man, _doesn't it just bug the hell out of you? I mean, about what happened to Blair? Cause it was about time someone gave him what for, but they must have been really mad. Gosh, I hope I don't piss them off…"

Bakura took his coffee and glanced around as the college student fell silent. He lowered his voice. "Louis, can you keep a secret?"

"Sure."

"And you swear you wouldn't repeat it to anyone else?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Here's the thing: I did that to Blair."

"You what?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Bakura hissed. Louis clamped his hands over his mouth. "Look, okay, last night I found a room I wasn't supposed to find. And Blair caught me in it. He threatened to hurt Yami, so I had to retaliate."

"Wow. Remind me never to insult your boyfri-"

Bakura gave him a look.

"…Crush I mean, your crush." Louis amended. "Seriously though, _you _did that to him?"

"You said it yourself, he pissed me off." He gulped down about half his coffee. "Look Lou, the reason I'm telling you this is because, against my better judgment, I've decided to trust you."

"Trust me?"

"You remind me a lot of the people I used to hang around with." Bakura said with a shrug. "They were all cheerful and honest like you are. Normally I hate trusting anyone, but if I ever want to get out of here and back to…"

"Pursuing Yami?" Louis offered.

"Yeah, that…then I'm going to need some help. You wanted to see your family again, right?"

"You bet!"

"Good. So, you like memorizing things. If you ever hear anyone say anything important, you remember it and tell me, okay? Now let me offer you some advice too. NEVER get caught in the basement."

"This place has a basement?"

"Yeah, that was what I said. You get into it by an old stairwell in the back of the first floor. The walls and ceiling look different, I think it was either already here when this place was built, or it was added on. And I think that's where all the secrets around here are being kept."

"Wow."

"I have something on Blair, but you don't. He'd kill you without a second thought, and you can say goodbye to that journalism degree you wanted. So stay away from the basement, got it?"

"Got it." Louis saluted.

"Good." Bakura crumpled up his disposable cup and tossed it in the garbage. "Now, I've got things to go do."

"Okay! See you later!"

* * *

_What the hell am I doing? _Bakura asked himself as he waited for the elevator to arrive. _Louis is a college student, he's not an expert at keeping secrets and staying cool. _The doors opened and he stepped inside, pushing the button for the third floor.

_I never trusted people ten times more stable than him, why did I basically just agree to partner up with him to find a way out of here?_

The elevator landed at the third floor and the doors opened, but Bakura didn't bother to get out.

_The only reason I'm getting him involved in what I found is because he could be handy down the road, and I know it. It's got nothing to do with his welfare; I could care less if he got back to college. I'm using him just like I've used everyone else I've met, he's just a handy tool, something to utilize if I need. Normally using people like that never bothered me but…what if he does something stupid and gets caught? Blair would kill him in a second. Would that really be the best deal…? Trade in Lou's life in an attempt to save Yami's?_

He shook his head and looked down at his watch. _Well…I'd trade whoever I had to, that's one thing for a fact. Yami's life is the only one that really matters, but…damn, if only he weren't in the picture, I'd be out of here by now. _

Considering that, Bakura finally left the elevator and returned to his room, digging out a piece of notebook paper and a pen.

_If I can convince Yami to get someplace safe, then I can crash this place without worry. _He decided as he sat down on his bed and scrawled Yami's name across the top of the paper and wondered how to phrase his message in a way that would convince his former-nemesis to believe him. Trying to describe everything going on was out of the question. Really, Bakura thought, no matter how the letter was written, it was going to sound far-fetched. For all he knew, Yami wouldn't even take his advice. But still, it was worth all the shots he had.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

My birthday is today! I posted one day early in celebration. ::throws confetti:: Since I was actually born at 7:30 pm, this will be the last chapter of a fic I will ever post as a fifteen-year-old. Bit weird to think of that.

Also, I'd like to point out that I have created a fanart for this fic. NOTE: IT IS A SPOILER. (In the form of a picture.)Go and view it ONLYif you want to see a scene from much later in the fic, otherwise, hold off if you don't wanta hint at what is coming.I wasn't planning to post the picture so soon, but I liked it since I worked really hard on it, and it's actually better than a lot of things I've drawn. Here is the 

About Louis: He's another OC I've tossed into the fray, and is, pretty much, a 'good guy'. (Also, yes, he has a last name, but it's going to be revealed later on.) He's quite likable, and I daresay that you could call him a 'friend' of Bakura's. He's a decent, very honestperson, and I like him. His role at the Compound is primarily to be a get-away driver at murders and whenever he might be needed, and he is now, apparently, Bakura's teammate. He'll be important to the story, keep an eye on him.

I guess it should be obvious that Bakura would make it out alive. I mean, he's the main character, and this is only the forth chapter, so dying now would be rather anti-climactic. And a bit pointless. And Bakura NEVER does pointless things. So, he's safe for now. But for how long? ::cackles:: Sorry…I heard that on a movie preview once. "But for how long…?" Okay, I'll stop it.

What else can I say about this chapter? Not a whole lot, since it was sort of weird. I liked it…but it was like, boom, just ended right smack in the middle of a scene. If this was a manga series, I could use this area to draw in like some manga-ka do. Instead I'm taking my cues from Murakami-sama and typing utter nonsense. Yay! Everyone loves utter nonsense…even when it has nothing to do with the story at hand. Why are author's notes usually dedicated to things having nothing to do with the story? Maybe once I've gathered all the votes for the Why-we-love-people-we-can't-be-with poll, I'll start a new poll for the AN's. ::laughs:: Oh, no need to run away screaming, I was just kidding.

Replies!!

Hershey-kiss: Yes, Bakura has quite the knack for searching out those situations, doesn't he? The guy just can't stay out of trouble. Maybe one day he'll learn…ah, not likely. Yay, you liked the joke! I'm glad…I was rather afraid someone that is a very uptight Christian would come along and ruin the humour. xD That shirt is so FUNNY! I wish I had one of those! Yee, you're curious. Good! Enjoy the twists. ::niko::

You Know Us: Ack! I thought I told you not to get abducted…well, as long as you return and review. ::laughs:: Bakura chose not to take anything along with him due to that any extra gear would weigh him down and prevent a stealthy escape. (Not that it did him much good…) Yes, yes, those are good questions…and I must drag out the answers as long as possible! You must all suffer of curiosity. But until then…::blinks:: Oh boy, I almost forgot about Michelle's fixation on Yami's good health…yikes. That's such a cheerful threat…xD We will see, we will see…

So! Now, I have news! January 29th…mark your calendars…gather up your party supplies…and pray like hell…because I've heard a very solid rumour going around that episodes 163 and 164…WILL FINALLY BE PLAYED ON THAT DAY! W00T W00T! ::parties like there is no tomorrow:: At last! Angsty goodness, Yugi-Yami shippy scenes, one of the BEST episodes in the series, and the return of my sanity shall come!! Squee! On this note, I'll see you all next update, and we shall see where this idea of Bakura's ends up going…


	5. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 05

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Five:

Two hours later, Bakura blew his bangs out of his face and studied the letter. It was smudged and a good many lines were scribbled out and rewritten over, but he thought he might have finally written something that would get Yami's attention and wouldn't be written off as a joke.

_Yami-_

_Your life is in danger. You have to get out of Domino as soon as you can, because these are people you do not want to mess with. This is really serious. I know I've said things before that weren't true, but this time it's different. If you don't get out of town now, you could be killed. So please do as I'm saying, and leave and hide really well, and don't tell anyone where you've gone! _

Bakura re-read it, blinked, and slapped himself. "He's never going to believe that!" he said aloud. "Well…then again, he's fairly serious, and this is the kind of thing he wouldn't laugh at. I guess all I can do is try to get this to him as soon as I can, and hope for the best."

He folded the paper and hid it inside the Bible that he'd found in the room the night he'd moved in. Because Bakura had no interest in the religion, he hoped that anyone that might search his room wouldn't look inside the book.

It was good because at that moment the door was opened. Bakura straightened up quickly, to be met by the boss, who was holding a picture.

"Good morning Bakura."

"Something you want?" Bakura asked pointedly.

"Your assignment." He replied, holding out the photograph. "Tonight will be your third killing."

"Hurrah." Bakura said dully, taking the picture.

"Louis will meet you tonight at ten in the parking area to drive you." the boss said, backing out the door and closing it. Bakura looked at the picture of the man and tossed it on the bed gleefully. This was perfect timing! Louis could be easily persuaded to stop at the post office real fast for some stamps, and he could mail the letter tonight. By the end of the week, Yami would be hidden safely out of Blair's way, and Bakura himself would be free to raise hell.

The only thing that bothered him was just how convenient it all was. Things never went this easy in real life. The smoothness of the moment was almost fake, and that made Bakura slightly uneasy. He decided to polish his gun and try to forget his worries.

* * *

That night, Bakura was almost in a good mood-or at least, as good a mood as could be expected. His dread at going to kill someone was both heightened with stress about mailing the letter secretly, and also helped by the knowledge that soon, he could get out the Compound for good. Blowing it up still wasn't a bad idea.

He strapped the Uzi over his shoulder and slipped the letter he'd written into a zipper on the inside of his coat. The picture of his target, (Name: Jonathon Holmes), was in his back pocket along with the address.

Turning off the lights, he headed downstairs to the parking area. To his surprise, it was empty. Louis was no place to be found, and the station-wagon, the usual get-away car, was parked in its place as normal, the engine cold. Suspicious, Bakura walked toward the front of the Complex. The way the building was made, there was a drive-through that went all the way under the building. One end, the font, opened onto the dirt road that led to the building, the other opened to a small empty field and then the woods. The front of the building was lit by a single motion-activated light, which flipped on the second Bakura emerged from the covered parking area, and revealed two people standing there, waiting. Blair, and the boss.

Bakura glanced around and then walked toward them. "What's up with this?" he asked. "Lou's not waiting by the car."

"Boy, you're a smooth one." The boss's normally serene voice was on edge.

"What's going on?" Bakura asked warily.

"Bakura, you disappoint me." He said sadly, shaking his head. Bakura narrowed his eyes.

Blair couldn't contain a smirk as he watched, and it was that arrogant grin that bothered Bakura the most. Finally he asked,

"Look, is Lou going to drive me tonight or not?"

"Bakura, concentrate on the real subject at hand, please."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bakura protested. The boss snapped his fingers. With a lightning fast movement, Blair grabbed Bakura's arms and pinned them behind him. The boss moved forward and unzipped the pocket of Bakura's coat, pulling out the note to Yami and waving it. Bakura felt a bit light-headed suddenly as he figured out that he'd been set up. Somehow the boss had found out that he had the message.

"Bakura, sometimes you don't make any sense. On one hand, you claim that no one likes you or misses you. You're a cold-hearted person that will use whatever you can for your own advantage. You're a killer for god's sake. And yet…you sit in your room and talk to yourself about the person you love, you put your own life on the line for a person that likely doesn't even care if you live or die. Your idiotic connection with Yami is your only weakness, and you're letting it get the best of you at every turn."

"And your point is?" Bakura spit, struggling against Blair, but of course not getting anyplace.

"My point is that in your self-appointed quest to keep this fool safe, you've really messed up." The man said calmly, crumpling the letter in his hand. "You disappoint me beyond belief. An assassin that lets a crush get in the way of his thinking."

"Hey, whoah, now that is not true." Bakura began objecting. "First of all, as I told you the first day here, _I'm not an assassin! _I'm a thief, thank you very much.Secondly-"

"And you know, it's not the fact that you were going to write a message to Yami to get out of town that makes me mad." The boss interrupted. "It's the fact that you had the balls to so blatantly do so against my wishes. Had you put a little creativity into writing this secretly, I might not be so mad because at least then I'd know your head is on straight."

"Lemmie clarify this…you're saying that I can betray you as long as I'm creative about it?" Bakura asked in astonishment. "Geez, you're even crazier than I first took you to be."

"If you've got betray me at all, at least." The boss shrugged. "But no, you so blindly wrote it-and hid it-right in view of my video camera."

"There's a camera in my room?!" Bakura yelped. "That's not cool. Have you been watching me all the time?? If I find out you're some kind of pervert watching me change clothes-"

"There's a camera in _every _room, didn't you know that?" Blair asked gaily. "_I'm_ one of the only people without one, 'cause the boss _trusts _me."

Bakura scowled. "So, you saw me writing the note and hiding it, and so you set me up on a murder tonight in order to catch me in the act. Very clever."

"Why thank you."

"Am I correct in guessing there's no murder tonight after all?"

"That's right."

Blair still didn't release his arms though.

"Okay, you guys made your point. I won't try to write to Yami again." Bakura relented. "Can I go now?"

"Oh, you're right in saying you won't be writing to him again." Blair laughed.

"Ne?"

"You'll never write to him again, because he's no longer alive to read anything."

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?"

Blair was laughing so hard by now, he was shaking. "I killed him tonight! That was your punishment, remember Bakura? If you get out of line, I kill your boyfriend. And I made good on that threat. One shot." He mimicked shooting a gun with his finger. "Bang, that was all it took."

For once, Bakura didn't bother to correct Blair's use of the word 'boyfriend'. Instead, he wordlessly brought his heel up into the man's crotch, forcing him to let him go. With a single move, Bakura spun around and whacked him on the side of his head with the butt of the Uzi. Blair went down in a heap, a bloody purple knot forming on the side of his face.

"I never knew you had such a temper." The boss said, watching. He waved his hand. "Anyway Bakura, you're free to return to your room, there's no third murder tonight." He turned to walk away. Bakura allowed him to make it two steps before jumping on his back, knocking the man to the ground. The boss reached for his pocket but before his hand was even anywhere close, Bakura jammed the barrel of the sub-machine gun into the boss's mouth, finger on the trigger. With his other hand, he reached into the man's pocket and removed the pistol he had hidden. Without a word, he flung it into the woods and turned his attention back to his captive.

"What do you think?" he snarled bitterly. "One shot? Like Blair did for Yami?"

The boss tried to say something around the metal stuck down his gullet, but Bakura only pressed down harder, pinning the man's head to the ground and nearly choking him.

"I think one shot would work perfectly." He hissed. "And I hope you'll feel every second of your death."

"Heeth got deab." Was the reply to that. Bakura arched an eyebrow.

"Say that again."

"Guy thed, heeth got deab. Ithz a hoak."

Bakura scowled, but removed the barrel from the man's mouth.

"Say that one more time and you'd better say it fast because otherwise in three seconds I'm killing you."

"I said Yami's not dead. It was a joke. Just a warning that we're serious. Blair didn't really go shoot him, he's alive and well. So like I said, you can go back to your room and not worry."

Bakura's eyes blazed and he jammed the barrel back down the boss's throat again.

"I'll tell you where I'm going." He said. "I'm going to go into Domino and make sure Yami's alive. And I swear that if I find out you ordered even a single one of his strands of hair to be hurt, I will come back here and make _you _murder number three, got that?"

The man nodded. Bakura swung his gun back over his shoulder, turned, and took off at a run under the road into the darkness of the night.

Off to his left, Blair woozily lifted himself off the ground to see his higher-up laying there, trying to catch his breath.

"Boss! Are you okay?"

"A bit bruised." He replied, throat raw. "But fine."

"Where did Bakura go?"

"He went into town to make sure Yami was still alive. I had to reveal the truth to him."

"Doesn't he know it's a five-mile road between here and the Domino limits? And who knows how many miles from there to Yami's apartment?"

"Yes, but I don't think it matters to him." He replied as he dusted himself off.

"That asshole…I'm really going to go kill that boyfriend of his now-" Blair seethed as he touched the painful lump on the head.

"No." the boss said sharply.

"What?"

"This clinches it, if we kill Yami, we've sealed our own fate." The boss said gravely. "Bakura isn't like my other employees. He's different. And his difference is a deadly one. Of all the people here that I've had to force to work for me, Bakura is the one link that could ruin everything I've tried so hard for."

"Say again?" Blair said, puzzled.

"Yami has to be kept alive, that's what I'm saying."

"Okay, it's your call." Blair shrugged and headed toward the elevator. He needed his drugs. And some beer.

The boss remained standing where he was, staring down the road that led to Domino.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

I'm sorry, I have to say this: 163 IS GOING TO PLAY THIS SATURDAY, I SAW THE PROMO TRAILER, AND IT IS SO FREAKING AWESOME, AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Okay, I'm done now. ::blinks innocently::

Also, happy early birthday to Joseph Wheeler/Jounouchi Katsuya, who will be…25 I believe, (if we pretend that he was 16 in 1996, when Yugioh was first published), tomorrow!

Is it just me, or should Bakura have killed those guys when he had a chance? Yeah, that seems kinda foolish of him. I'll be explaining why he didn't do that in the next chapter, so for now just go with it. He wasn't being foolish, he was being prideful…which is almost as bad.

I'm still proud of him, getting all upset when he thought Yami was dead. ::huggles him against his will:: He's so sweet. Well, as sweet as an Uzi-wielding psychopath can be. Boy, I can really pick the guys. Actually, I do love Yami more than Bakura, but I've got quite an attachment to my version of the evil dude. Consider it endearment.

And now, the moment we've all waited for…THE RESULTS OF THE POLL!!

So, out of the small population I was able to rather results from, what was the most common reason why people tend to fall in love with others that they will never be able to be with? Drum roll please…

Well, far as I can tell, it has to do with fantasy. As one person said, "forbidden fruit tastes the best", and as another put it, "People love to dream". It's sort of like a walk on the wild side, trying to push fate, trying to tame and make ours what we know we can never have, so we dream about it. Everyone seems to agree that this is basic human nature. So there you have it!! Many thanks to everyone that participated. ::niko::

Replies:

Ha! Looks like I got off easy this chapter around. No one to reply to. O.o Okay, so I know one of you at least has a legit excuse. It was nice of you all to give me some time off writing, but c'mon now, let's not make this a habit, I need reviews!

In other news, I'm starting to master the art of AMVs! It's so much fun…I've just finished a Yami and Bakura tribute, you know, to go hand-in-hand, (pun not intended), with this fic. I think it's sort of neat. ::smile:: If anyone out there can think of another song that matches their relationship, feel free to give me the name and artist of it, ideas are always appreciated! I'm working on figuring out how to get them on , as well.

See you all next week, and until then, don't forget to wash your socks.

Wait...I must say it once more: NEW EPPY 163 THIS SATURDAY, IT'S SO FREAKING AWESOME! I SO CANNOT WAIT THAT LONG! ::spazzes::

Really, I'm done now. Jaa!


	6. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 06

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Six

Bakura looked around, knocked on the door, and ran across the street, diving behind some bushes, heart pounding. He'd decided on his plan on the way there, he would knock first and hide, and if he got no answer then he would just have to bust down the door and make his presence known. After a few moments, the door opened and Yami-very much alive and well-stepped outside.

"Hello?" he asked, peering around. "Was someone out here?"

Getting no answer, he shrugged to himself, turned, and walked back inside. Bakura heaved a sigh of relief. Yami looked unharmed, which took a large weight off his shoulders. Then he cursed himself because he'd run off from the Compound so quickly, when he should have taken the time to write a new note and leave it at Yami's. But he'd been worried, and hadn't thought clearly. He patted his pockets but of course he had no pen or paper, and talking to Yami directly was out of the question.

Getting to his feet and dusting leaves from the hedges out of his hair, he walked across the road and pressed himself up against the side of the ground-floor apartment, peering around the corner of the window. There were navy blue curtains on the windows, the sort that hung straight. They were open, revealing a comfortable-looking, (though small), room with a couch, TV, and square table. The table had a half-finished jigsaw puzzle on it. The picture looked like a lighthouse…or maybe part of a castle. There was a light still on, and Bakura wondered why Yami would be up so late. It was long past midnight, and yet there were signs of life all over the single room. And Yami had been dressed, he'd noticed, in jeans and a shirt, so unless he slept in those, (and Bakura knew from experience that sleeping in jeans was very uncomfortable), he must have been awake when Bakura had knocked.

There was a movement at the door to the room and Bakura quickly smacked himself up against the wall. When he dared peer in the window again, he saw Yami now seated on the couch, studying the puzzle with his back to the window. Of course, he thought, Yami was the sort of stubborn person that would stay up late to finish a puzzle. As he watched while Yami selected a piece and snapped it into place, he found himself feeling lonely. What he wouldn't give to be in that room right that moment too, helping to choose jigsaw pieces…the thought suddenly scared him because he realized that there was almost nothing he wouldn't do.

Suddenly, for some reason unbeknownst to him, Yami turned around. Bakura was so deep in thought that he didn't realize it till it was too late, and the two locked eyes for a split second. Bakura froze, staring back into Yami's purple orbs without blinking. Yami's eyes widened in recognition and he got to his feet. That single movement broke Bakura's trance, and he turned and ran, hiding behind someone's van in the driveway a few places over. He saw the door to Yami's apartment swing open.

"Bakura?" Yami asked aloud. "Bakura, I saw you out here-where are you?"

Bakura squeezed his eyes shut and pretended he wasn't there. After what seemed like an eternity, Yami eventually stopped calling and went back inside, and Bakura sagged to the ground with a hefty sigh.

_This is crazy. What I want more than anything else is for Yami to notice me, and then when he does see me, I turn and run. _Bakura scolded himself.

_Look, you've been here, seen that Yami is fine, it's time for you to get going, hear me? It doesn't matter what you want…that can be concerned for later. Right now, you need to get back to the Compound and stop standing around out here, pining. _A new voice popped up.

_But I like watching him, dammit!_ _It feels…right. _A third voice, this one in agreement with the first, pushed it's way into the conversation in his mind.

_Oh please. You're an evil spirit. Yami doesn't like you. So get over your fixation and go back to the Compound._

_But I want to stay and watch him for just a little longer…_

In annoyance, Bakura fell back against the side of the van with a thump. A speaker in the van began blaring and a mechanical voice said loudly,

"YOU ARE TOO CLOSE TO THE VEHICLE. PLEASE STEP AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE."

With that, Bakura decided he'd spent enough time hanging around.

* * *

It was around 10:00 the next morning when Blair went to find his boss in his office. The older man was typing away diligently at his keyboard, but turned off the program when Blair walked in.

"Yes?"

"Boss, I've got to ask you something."

"Mm-hmmm?"

"Why shouldn't I go kill Yami right now?" he asked. "Bakura's strutting around the dining hall like some sorta king, and when I tried to just remind him that he's not that great, he told me to go away because he would rather talk to his coffee. He said he could at least carry on an intelligent conversation with it. No one insults me like that and gets away with it!"

"I told you, Yami must remain alive."

"Yeah, but WHY?"

"Because he is, in theory, the weak link of my plan."

"But he doesn't even know about us."

"Yes, but he's what keeps Bakura here. Do you know what would happen if we killed him?"

"Uzi-boy would be mad?"

"Exactly. You saw him last night when he heard what you said. Most people would have crumbled to the ground and frozen in shock, but instead Bakura's first instinct was to kill us without any hesitation. Do you know what that means?"

"That he has a temper?"

The boss raised an eyebrow. "I'm starting to think that my assassin has a point with all his jokes about your lack of intelligence."

"What! You asked a question and I answered it. All I got out of last night was that Bakura is a wimp. He had a chance to kill us, and he didn't, instead he ran off to check on that boyfriend or crush or whatever he is. If you ask me, he just didn't have the guts to shoot. He should have gone and done what he had to do, he had the perfect chance." Blair shook his head. "Stupid. I don't even see why you call him the 'threat'. The guy's afraid to shoot someone he really hates, how is that a threat?"

"Bakura is a threat, a very large one in fact."

"Would you just give me a straight answer!" the body builder asked in exasperation, wishing he was back in the gym with his wonderful anabolic steroids. Lack of sleep and too much beer from the night before wasn't helping his morning personality either.

"Fine. Blair, Bakura isn't a coward. He is, in fact, the polar opposite. He's a very self-confident person. The reason he didn't kill us last night should be obvious. He doesn't need a 'perfect chance'. You were unconscious, but I saw it in his face. He's ready to come after us the moment we lay a hand on Yami, and he wouldn't care if we were alone or surrounded by an army. He's simply not afraid of us. Unlike other people, he can't be manipulated by threat of personal harm. That's what sets him apart, he's virtually fearless. The only thing he does seem to care about be Yami. I can guarantee you that if you told him right now that Yami was dead, he'd have killed us all by nightfall. If we kill Yami, we lose his loyalty."

"And you're still insisting on keeping him here as your assassin?" Blair asked in astonishment. That seemed like a pretty stupid thing to do, in his mind.

"Of course, because I need him."

"Not really." Blair replied. "This could be accomplished without those people-"

"Of course it could. I'm just having some fun before the whole plan takes effect. Besides, he's certainly keeping you on your toes, which is a nice change. Your drugs might make you feel invincible, but you won't be a very good body guard unless you're kept in mental shape. And he does that quite well."

Blair blinked, lizard-like.

"If we kill Yami, Bakura will snap and ruin my plans, and I'm not going to have that happen. So Blair, you will, under no circumstances, hurt Yami. Got it? Threaten to all you'd like, but never follow through on the plans, because once he's dead, we are too. There's only one of him, after all."

"Okay, okay, I got it." He muttered.

* * *

"Wow, and then what happened?" Louis asked in excitement. Bakura shrugged, sipping his second cup of coffee in an attempt to keep himself awake, and considering going and taking a nap anyway. The lack of sleep over the past nights was taking its toll on him.

"I turned and ran off to go check on Yami."

"And then what?"

"And then I found out he was fine so I came back here and went to bed."

"And then?"

"Lou, that's all, there is no more to the story. I've gone over this like, five times so far, the ending is going to stay the same."

"I still think that's awesome. I can just see you, both these powerful guys on the ground and you're threatening them with your gun-"

"Louie, are you sure you're a college student? Because right now you remind me of a first grader. A first grader on a sugar high."

"I just think it's cool that you're taking a stand and pushing your limits. You're all brave like that. I'd _never_ have done that."

"Well, it's nice to see someone looking up to me as an inspiration rather than a bad example." Bakura said, bemused.

"It's about time someone gave Blair what he has coming anyway. He walks around all swollen up and ugly as hell and yet he thinks he's so handsome and strong. And here you are, effectively kicking his ass." Louis was elated.

"You know, sometimes I feel like I fit in here, at least." Bakura replied, leaning back. "With my old life…well, not many people liked me, let alone were my friends. Here, I've got people who at least talk to me without giving me this look like they think I'm going to blast them into oblivion. And when I slug someone, I have people congratulating me for it. If there's anything good about this place at all, that's it. They don't know my past…so they can't judge me on sight." He paused. "If the circumstances were different…I might like to stay. In many ways, I do at least feel at home here. I like not being hated for once."

"Don't you think your old friends miss you, even just a little?"

"Why should they? I told you, I was never nice to them. I'm still not nice to them. And I'm probably not going to be nice to them, even in the future. Being evil and using people is in my blood."

"No wonder you're so lonely."

Bakura glanced at him with a frown. "Who said I was lonely? Maybe I like things this way. They certainly don't care much about me and I don't care for them. That's just the way it is. Life is cruel, we should just accept it and stop trying to change it. The past is the past and no matter what, people will always remember it, it won't go away with apologies or penance, no matter what someone does. Besides," he added morosely, "I saw Yami last night and he's certainly not sunk in any grief."

"But he bothered to come outside and look for you when he saw you." Louis reminded. "He might have just written you off as a delusion. So that means he must care a little."

"You think so?" Bakura asked hopefully. Louis began laughing.

"Listen to yourself!"

Bakura sunk back down in his chair. "Haha. Real funny. It's not nice to mess with my emotions you know, they're unstable enough as it is."

"I'm sorry." Louis glanced down at his watch. "Oh, I've gotta run, my favorite television show is going to be on in a few seconds." He got up and jogged off, waving.

Bakura, left alone at the table, found himself thinking of what Louis had said, and without willing himself to, he began smiling down into his cup.

"He's right, Yami could have ignored me, but instead he came to see if I really was outside. Maybe he _does_ care." He said quietly.

That thought affixed in his mind, he stood up and tossed the cup into the trash, heading for his room to sleep after all. If he wanted to give Yami a chance, he was going to need to get out from under this whole assassin mess. And to do that, he knew what he needed to do. He had to return to that computer room in the basement tonight.

* * *

Bakura waited till midnight to leave his room. He half-expected to see someone guarding the room, or at the very least, a better lock. But instead, it was the same old easy-to-pick lock and no one in sight. He was fairly sure Blair wouldn't be cornering him tonight, he'd been watching in awe that evening in the dining hall as the body guard downed no less than seven beers in two hours, a handful of tablets, and then vanished to the gym.

_Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll drop a weight on his head while he's bench-pressing. Or maybe he'll overdose. Or maybe he'll attract the attention of the fleas of a thousand camels and they will infest his armpits. I'd sure like a picture of that. _Bakura mused as he unlocked the door. The room looked about the same as it had before. He flipped on the flashlight he'd remembered to bring this time, and shone it around. To his right were the tall machines, to his left was a table with regular computer monitors upon it. The table in the middle of the room had been cleared off, most likely the paper was now stowed in the file cabinets he saw placed in a neat row against the back of the room. The walls, floor, and ceiling of this room were of the same cold stone as the hallway. It was the kind of room someone could feel claustrophobic in, even if they were the only person in it. The walls seemed to press in upon him. It reminded him, more than ever, of some kind of cell or dungeon.

Well, the papers didn't matter anyway. Instead he selected one of the normal-sized computers, located the power buttons, and turned it on. With a perky blink of light, the monitor identified the computer as Windows, and flashed a password screen. Bakura laughed._ Password screens my ass. _He hit the 'cancel' button and sure enough, the program opened just the same. The background was cause for a double-take; it portrayed a woman with an unnatural-sized bust lounging on a beach. A copy write in the corner indicated it was property of Playboy. Bakura snorted. Of course, he reflected, the evil villains _always _have a dumb obsession over boobs. Was there ever really a bad guy in any movie or book that was devoted entirely to his cause and was never led astray by seduction? Bakura had watched a lot of action movies, and he found it amusing that he couldn't think of any.

Eventually, everything loaded. He opened Microsoft Word first, and clicked the name of the newest document saved, only to find a 476 page list of random numbers. And though it was impressive to think that someone had typed a 476 page long document consisting entirely of numbers, it wasn't going to help. Other documents were similarly unhelpful, and he was getting very close to picking up the computer and chucking it on the floor, when he finally found a document that helped. It was mostly a very long listing of what looked like mechanical plans for something, but what he found most noticeable was all the references to America, in between stretches of English text that he couldn't read. Scrolling, he found that word on many of the pages.

Glancing at his watch, he realized he'd been in the room for nearly an hour, and decided not to push his luck. He closed the program and shut down the computer. Returning to his room, he considered the one piece of information he'd found, and wondering what 'America' had to do with the boss's overall plan…whatever it was.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes:

Ahh, and now we're finally getting someplace. I found this chapter rather fun to write. I got to show some of Bakura's soft side, which was both cute and enjoyable, and I got to finally start to push the sl along. (along to an important plot point anyway.) I'm looking forward to where this is going, and I can tell you now with certainty, this fic will be longer than any others I've written. Even longer than Love, Life, and Loss, which was fifteen chapters. Even longer than Run Away, which I even wrote an alternate ending for.

Wow. :thinks of all the typing she'll have to do: This _will _be fun!

Bakura's emotions are a great deal of fun to write for too…he's the sort of character that you just want to write lots and lots of dialogue for because he's so expressive in some ways and yet so withdrawn in others. The sort of person whose voice holds so many things, and it's hard to put all those things into just text. Well, I'll give it a try.

By the way, the info about the password screens in windows is true. I tested it on my own computer. The cancel button isn't just there for looks! I suppose a good password program wouldn't have this in it, but for just windows in general, you can bypass those screens, easy.

Replies:

Kate: Hey! Welcome to the reviewing family of TPoaH. :niko: I hope you're enjoying the fic!

You Know Us: Glad to see you two up and alive, (and not abducted.) Bakura is just full of surprises, but that _is _a pretty neat trick, ne? "You pissed me off!" :clamp:opponent drops to floor: xD Hahahaa…Michelle-chan has a crush! No need to feel bad, Yami's very crush-worthy, and you're not the only one in this household with his interests in mind. :fangirlish niko: Bakura, of course, is also looking out for him too. You didn't say you'd read ch. 5 yet in your review, but by now you probably have, and you see how protective he is. The plot thickens!

I hope everyone is enjoying the story...I have to say, this is a far more indeapth fic than usual, and I'm really pleased with how it's coming out. It's better than I'd ever hoped for, and so I just hope that everyone out there reading it is enjoying it. - See you next week!

Wait...I gotta say it before I go...EPPY 163 RULED! It was so shippy and passionate and beautiful and angsty and painful and sad and just so...damn...beautiful. :cries: IT SO RULED:runs off to squeel into her Yami pillow like a nut:


	7. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 07

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Seven:

He was standing outside Yami's apartment. The door seemed to be locked when he tried the knob and the curtains were drawn across the windows. Bakura knocked on the door, and when he got no answer, he tried knocking harder.

"Yami!" he called. Still no answer, and he began to feel nervous. "Yami?" Taking a few steps back, he hefted one of the rocks lining the driveway of the next house over, and lobbed it through the glass window. Despite the noise, no one came out to investigate. The inside of the house was dark, and Bakura felt uncomfortable as he climbed in the window and felt his way through the room to the hall. "Hello?" He called down it.

Quite suddenly, out of nowhere, a sharp pain hit his chest and he doubled over, knowing somehow, someway, that Yami was in trouble. Starting to run, he took off down the hall, but after several minutes there was no end in sight, and no doors. Where was Yami's room? It had to be someplace in this hallway, but still he saw no doors, and the hall seemed to go on forever. It was unreal, this was only a small apartment, where was this hall leading him? And where was Yami, because Bakura could feel it, something in his mind told him that the former pharaoh was in danger someplace. "Yami!" he shouted down the hall. "Are you here?"

"_Yami…_" Bakura muttered in his sleep at that moment. "Yami, where are you…" He tossed under the covers and his hand smacked against the side of his table, the pain waking him up. "Owch. Wha…?" He opened his eyes and found himself in his bed in the Compound. Yami's apartment and hallway were nowhere in sight. "A dream?" He rolled back over, rubbing his bruised hand. "So that wasn't real. Of course…Yami _is _in danger if I don't watch myself here…that must be where it came from." He sighed and rolled over.Unsettling dreams weren't exactly common to him, normally he never dreamed at all. He didn't like the helpless feeling he'd had in it. But at the same time, the reverie had done him some good. It was as if it were the signal he'd been waiting for to try out his half-formed plan he'd been toying with for the past week.

* * *

Bakura took a deep breath and crossed the crowded dining hall. There was virtually no place in the building to have a private conversation, but dinnertime was the best choice because of all the other people around talking to each other.

"Louis." He said, taking a seat beside the student, whose eyes were glued to an instruction manual for a video game, and a half-eaten bowl of ramen sat before him. Still, he swiveled his head around at the sound of Bakura's voice. He'd come to admire and even somewhat look up to the assassin.

"Yeah?"

"I need your help."

Against his better judgment yes, but nonetheless, Bakura spoke the truth. He'd decided that in order to find anything of use out, the only choice was to go straight to the source. And that meant searching the boss's computer files. No doubt that would be where the important information was. (And hopefully a less tacky desktop picture.) However, the boss's office was either inhabited by the man himself, or was otherwise under constant surveillance of a video camera that had the ability to tape everything in nearly a 360 degree view. The only place it couldn't tape was a five inch by five inch dead space directly above the lens, where a piece of black plastic secured it to the ceiling. There was no way he could get in and out of that office unseen, unless he had some help.

"Really? You need my help? For what?"

"Geez Louis, by all means, raise your voice. There might have been a few people in England that didn't hear you."

Louis lowered his voice guiltily. "Sorry."

"Okay, listen. I've got to get into the boss's office. But before I do that, I have to either short out his camera, or steal the tape from it. Both those things I can't do if he's in there, and I can't take a chance on him walking in on me. You follow?"

"I get your point, but I don't see what I can do."

"Then open your eyes. You've got to distract the boss long enough for me to sabotage his camera or steal the tape, and then get him out of his office long enough for me to get a good look in his computer files."

"How are you going to do that?"

"Old-school style, that's how. Open whatever documents he's modified recently, print them out, and get studying. Microsoft Word's one of the very few progams I know, it's my best shot."

"No, not that, I mean how are you going to even get close enough to the camera to mess it up? It'll tape you, and he'll still be able to see that it was you who did it. And if the tape goes missing right after you were in there, he'll know you took it." Louis shoveled noodles into his mouth. "It's a good plan, don't get me wrong, but it's dangerous. Even more dangerous than beating Blair up." He said, spraying broth from his ramen.

"Weren't you the one congratulating me for pushing the limits?" Bakura demanded, handing him a napkin. "Look kid, I need your help. _Yami _needs your help. And if I'm right about what's going on, then there's a bunch of other people that need your help too."

"Hn, I know, I know. It's just…they said they'd kill me if they ever found me out of bounds." Louis seemed very unlike his usual rowdy self, which concerned Bakura. He didn't like it when people acted unlike themselves. "It's one thing to offer advice to you, or listen for any information, but…I've told you before Bakura, I'm only here to save myself. I want to get out, sure, but I don't want to die doing so."

"And I don't want Yami to die!" Bakura argued back, temper rising. "I think this place is after a lot more than killing just a few people. There's something far bigger in the works. Look at all the people in this room and tell me there's not something bigger than all of us happening. If you help me, you could potentially be helping to save the world."

"I'm sorry Bakura. I mean, everyone has something they want to save. You have Yami and I have myself. We can't save both."

"If you'll help me, goddammit, then we can try."

He got no reply. Scowling, Bakura shrugged as he turned to walk off. "Fine, I'll carry out the plan on my own."

He got a few steps away before Louis asked curiously,

"Were you serious about possibly saving the world?"

Bakura turned back and smirked. The idea of being a hero always got to everyone in the end. "Better believe it."

Louis glanced down at the video game manual, and then toward a crowd of people resembling engineers, who were all seated at a table talking quietly among themselves, and who threw him dirty looks when they saw him watching them. Bakura waited. Louis looked back and stood up, smiling.

"What the heck, why not?"

* * *

He decided to just steal the tape. Upon investigation, he figured out there was no way to short out the camera with water from the ceiling, and there was no way to rig up a pulley system. Since the tape in the video camera was on the inside, it was impossible to tell that it was missing at a glance. Bakura waited till no less than three people had been in the boss's office before he sent Louis in, so that there would be a few suspects.

"Boss!" Louis burst in the door, panting.

"What is it?" the man shot up in his seat.

"I saw a stranger outside, he was looking around the parking area. I don't think he's buying the story about the poison gas being here. What should I do?"

Bakura, listening in a closet nearby, was impressed at how realistic Louis sounded. _And this guy was wasting his time in college studying journalism?_

Sure enough, the story about a stranger hanging around got the boss's attention, and the two ran off down the hall toward the stairs. Bakura, meanwhile, slipped into the office, removing the tape from the camera and sliding it into his pocket. He shut the tape door so that it looked as though the tape was still in there. Louis had said he could only guarantee fifteen minutes, so Bakura quickly grabbed some printer paper from a box under the desk, stuck it in the printer, and opened up Microsoft. He found very little that was of any use there, so he tried opening the My Documents folder instead, and there he found a bunch of text documents full of calculations. They looked important, so he printed those out.

As they were printing, he curiously opened up a program called "LDOP". He had no idea what the letters stood for, but the program revealed a lot of pictures, measurements, and diagrams of parts of something. Almost like blueprints. There were some paragraphs written in English as well, but he couldn't translate them.

"Ah…" he said aloud, highlighting the pictures and hopefully tapping Ctrl-P. To his delight, the pictures began printing. Bakura perched on the desk and checked his watch. Ten minutes had already passed.

* * *

"Where did you see the person?" Blair demanded.

Louis blinked. He and the boss had run outside, and on their way, acquired a small crowd, every one of them ready to beat up whatever idiot that had dared to walk onto the property.

"Um…I saw him in the parking area."

"Probably some no good car thief." Blair growled, dashing for the parking garage.

Louis kept his eyes trained on the side of the building. He and Bakura had decided upon a warning: if he saw the shades in the window of the boss's office open and close real quickly, that meant Bakura was going to need some extra time and to try and stall the boss as long as possible.

"Louis." The boss prompted, snapping his fingers. "What did the stranger look like?"

"He…he had short hair. And it was black." Louis nodded surely, figuring there had to be a millionshort-black-haired people in Japan."And he was wearing jeans and…ah…I think it was a green shirt."

"Do you know which way he was heading? Was he going toward the stairs, or back toward the woods?"

Louis didn't answer because at that moment, he saw the shades of the boss's office open and close frantically.

"Um…um…" Louis began nervously, now worried about what could have gone wrong, and how long he'd be able to keep people away. "Toward the woods. I think, but it was hard to tell, y'know, because we're surrounded by woods…"

* * *

Bakura was having trouble. Thanks to him stuffing a bunch of printer paper into the machine without making sure all the pages were flush, a royal paper jam had occurred. The paper jam to end all paper jams. He couldn't pull the stuck sheets out either direction without fear of breaking something in the printer.

"Dammit! Who invented these idiotic machines?" He demanded as he tugged at the stuck sheets. "I hate this! I hate computers, I hate printers, I hate the imbecile that invented them, I hate the company that made this PIECE OF CRAP…"

He yanked at the paper and it loosened unexpectedly, causing him to trip and fall. "Owch!"

On screen, the gray box cheerfully announced that the paper jam had been cleared, and warned him to follow the subsequent steps listed to avoid the problem in the future.

"I'll give you a problem…" Bakura muttered, rubbing the back of his head, his fingers dotted with black ink smudges from the printer.

He hoped that Louis was doing a good job holding the boss up.

* * *

"Well, you see, I came down here…why did I come down here again? Oh, right, yeah, I came down here because I was going to wash the car. See, the station wagon hasn't been washed in a long time so I thought I'd make it nice and clean for the next get-away time. So, I came down here to wash it-"

"Why didn't you bring any soap…and a bucket to fill up?" A tall woman that everyone referred to as Janie, who was wearing a jumpsuit like one would commonly see a mechanic wearing, spoke up suspiciously.

Louis faltered. "Well, I came down here first just to see if I _needed_ to wash it or not. Then, if I had needed to wash it, I would have gone and gotten some soap and water and a bucket."

The boss cut in impatiently. "That's fascinating. Where did you see this stranger though?"

"Oh, well, I was down here, I was coming down to see if I needed to wash the car-"

"Yes Louis, I think we have established that." The boss sighed, looking at his watch. "Look, I'm very busy. I'd like you all to search the property, top to bottom. I've got to get back to my office."

Louis panicked and looked around wildly. "Ah-what's that! I saw something move over there, it looked like a flash of green! Maybe it was that guy's shirt. Let's go check!" He grabbed the boss's cuff and began dragging him across the dirt road.

"Louis, someone else can go look!" The boss unattached himself and began walking toward the Compound. "I was very busy and I'm glad you brought this to my attention, but I don't have to oversee it all."

"Wait!"

* * *

_I HATE COMPUTERS! _Bakura ranted to himself as he feverishly hit random buttons. Just as the print job was starting to end, the program committed what the red box on the screen proclaimed as a 'fatal error'. Bakura wasn't exactly techno-savvy, and the sudden announcement of a 'fatal error' didn't sound promising. It sounded like something quite the opposite. _They are incomprehensible, idiotic, impossible machines that can't be threatened into working correctly. I hate everything that goes with the damn things. I hate the monitors and the mouse and the keyboard and the goddamn printer with its blasted paper jams, and all these stupid programs with their stupid Fatal Errors…_

"Just a few more minutes Lou, just hold him off for a few more minutes." He begged as he pushed keys in hopes of finding a way around the problem rather than having to reboot the computer. Having to do that could easily get him caught. Some computers rebooted quickly, some slowly. It would be really bad for the boss to return to see his computer busy restarting, when it had already been on when he'd left it.

He remembered something Ryou had mentioned one time, Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Hopefully, he tried the three-key combo and miraculously, there, the computer offered up a list of running programs that he could cancel.

"I love you, whoever invented that." He said gratefully, nearly collapsing as he closed the programs.

"BOSS, ARE YOU SURE IT'S SAFE TO LEAVE THEM OUT THERE WITHOUT SUPERVISION?" From far down the hall he suddenly heard Louis's voice echo. "WHAT IF THE GUY IS CAUGHT? WON'T YOU NEED TO BE THERE?"

"Louis, you don't have to yell, I can hear you just fine."

_Oh, screw it. _Bakura thought quickly as he grabbed the papers he'd printed and, after contemplating his possibilities, finally stuffed them up the right leg of his jeans so that the tight denim held them against his skin. He quickly stationed himself in the chair in front of the desk and pretended to study the paperweight when the door swung open and the boss stopped in his tracks.

"Bakura?"

"Bakura?" Louis echoed, a questioning look in his eyes. Bakura purposely ignored him, giving the boss his most innocent look, which ended up looking more like a painful grimace.

"Ah, there you are. I wanted to talk to you, but you weren't here, so I decided to wait. That's a nice paperweight you have."

"Thanks." The boss gave him a funny look. Bakura concealed his ink-spattered fingers quickly. "So, what did you want to ask me about?" He asked as Louis vanished from the room.

"Well, you know I have that pay from my 'jobs', and I haven't done anything with it. I was thinking that I'd really like some Tonfa blasters. You know, the mini kind that come with a belt to hold them? I've always wanted some but could never afford them." Bakura, at least,telling the truth about that. He'd often wished he could add a pair to his collection of firearms."They would be impractical for this job, but still, they look like fun. So I wanted to ask you about ordering some." He crossed his legs, as he could feel the papers starting to slip.

"Ah, I see." The boss sat down in the chair thoughtfully. "That could probably be arranged."

Bakura nodded, and as he did, he realized with a start that he'd left the printer on, able to see the glowing green light over the boss's shoulder. Determined not to let it show in his face, he spent a good ten minutes after, chatting about Tonfa blasters, and when he finally left the office, he felt on the verge of collapse. All the boss had to do was see the printer was on, and that would have screwed everything up. He hoped the man would attribute it to having had it on before and forgotten. Once in his room he changed and tossed his jeans-papers and all-into the dirty clothes basket. Later on after dark, he'd retrieve them when he was sure no one would see him doing so on the video camera installed in the corner.

"Well, screw-ups and all…" Bakura said to himself as he flopped down on the bed to calm his racing heart. "…That was effective. Now I've got the information at least. Tomorrow I'll start looking it over." He rolled over onto his stomach and lifted his pillow, taking out his worn picture of Yami. "Pretty soon, you'll be safe. I'll make sure of it."

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

I know...this is a day late. I'M SORRY! But yesterday was so hectic, I hardly had time for my homework and to eat, much less get online to post. I know this chapter isn't much, but I promise the next will be far better. (I've begun it, it's coming along great.) So, sorry for making you wait, but I was just. Really. Busy. :collapses:

"Something bigger than all of us…" I thought I'd just point out that Yami uses a quote similar to this in episode 154. It's rather interesting, that Bakura would unknowingly use the quote himself. Not a major plot point or anything, but it's sort of neat.

It's amazing how many ways there are to draw scenes out, you ever notice that? It's also amazing how many stupid problems computers can have. While I love my Compy, he still drives me up the wall with madness sometimes! Arragg! There have been times when the proverbial hammer had looked inviting to use. Yes, yes indeed. Bakura-chan, I feel your pain.

Replies:

You Know Us: Yep, you're all up to date. :niko: Ah, well, had Bakura killed them, the story would have ended far too quickly…I must draw everything out, nice and long. :cackles: Ooh, very observant, the prologue IS an important plot point. :nods: Hahaa, Michelle-chan has a crush and she won't admit it! Aww…well, I hope that she won't be too hard to deal with later on in the fic. Until then, there is much to come, especially now that there's finally some solid plotlines forming. Yes, men are very…predictable…to say the least. :shakes head: Bakura's so cute with his crush, he acts like such a shy teenager. If only that stupid alarm hadn't gone off…:sigh:

Una1: Una-chan:glomps: Hi! Knowing that you weren't big on shounen-ai, I didn't think I'd see you this fic around, but I'm really glad you've decided to check it out. :niko: Aw, thank you! Yeah, Bakura's so lovable. Evil…but loveable. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. O.o Oooh, yes, 163 and 224…two of the absolute best episodes in the whole series. (Though I'll be too busy crying through most of 224, I might miss a good deal of it when it finally plays…) Yes, Dan Green really did a good job, I was impressed, and now have even more respect for him. Ahh, yeah, the Japanese version did have some better dialogue, it's too bad they had to cut out the, "so you came here to complain!", line…but oh well. It was still very good, ne? The Doom saga is really good, though Bakura would have made it better. Bakura makes anything better. :laughs: I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the fic to come!

Awright. Now that 163 is down, I've set my sights on looking forward to 173. xD It's going to be such a beautiful scene with Joey and Mai, I bet it'll make my dad cry. (I turned him into a Joey-Mai shipper and he's also a big sap…) The Doom arc is just riddled with all these beautiful scenes. I'm really glad the producers chose it to fill in space. It's too bad it's not in the manga, but ah well. I guess 343 chapters are long enough for the manga. (Yeah, so how did the anime end up being only 224 episodes with all that extra stuff, huh? Cause they condensed it, of course…) Yikes, I'm starting to break my resolution about short author's notes, I better shut it.

But the Doom arc rules! Just had to say it. So angsty and beautiful. :cries: I love it!

Right, I'll see you all next week. Until then, stay safe and don't go catching that nasty flu that's going around. :cringe: Mata!


	8. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 08

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Eight:

His door opened early the next morning. Bakura shot to his feet and reached for his gun. He'd kept it assembled and close by all day and night, half-certain that eventually the boss would notice the printer on and would figure out that he'd been in his office. But he was determined to protect the papers he'd found, even if that meant shooting every single sorry person that stepped foot in his room. Those papers could be his way out, and Yami's salvation. No way was he going to let anyone get hold of them.

"Greetings Uzi-boy." Blair walked in, holding a piece of paper.

"Greetings moron." Bakura returned, not setting the gun down.

"Third murder time." Blair thrust the paper toward him. Bakura took it.

"You can leave now." He said.

"What did I tell you about respecting me?"

Bakura tapped his chin for a moment, thoughtfully. "Uh…yeah, I remember this conversation. If I recall, that was the same night I kicked your ass. What, you want me to get after that nerve again?"

Unconsciously, Blair lifted his hand to defend his shoulder. Bakura laughed.

"I'll respect you as soon as you give me a good reason to." He finally said, turning his attention back to the Firearms catalog.

"I'm the boss's right hand man, he tells me everything, and you don't get any information at all. I'm ten times more important to this establishment than you are."

"Now there's an honor." Bakura didn't even look up.

"Grr…" Blair chewed on his lower lip, irritated.

"Look, just tell when I'm meeting Louis for this job, and get the heck out of my room. You're contaminating the air."

"Fifteen minutes."

"What?" Bakura did look up for that.

"You'd better be down in the parking lot in fifteen, because that's when you're off. No more of this sissy killing at night, you're going to strike during the day this time around."

Bakura wasn't too concerned about that. Killing during the day was no different than at night, and really, it made things easier because this way you could see your target better. What bothered him was that the last time he'd been told to murder this same person, that had been a set-up and he'd been told Yami was dead. He didn't want to repeat that.

"Is this another trick?" he finally demanded.

"Like I'd tell you if it was." Blair waved his hand and left the room. Bakura scowled, but got out the strap for the Uzi anyway. It wasn't like he had a choice.

* * *

"This is going to look so totally natural." Bakura spit in annoyance. "Carrying a gun around town."

"Look on the bright side, at least this time it really is a murder and you weren't set up." Louis suggested.

Bakura just scowled deeper.

Louis pulled over onto a dirt road. "And it's an easy one too. The guy lives alone in a house with no neighbors. All you have to do is wait for him to come home, shoot him, and make your break."

"I don't like going inside people's houses to wait for them. I get bored." Bakura complained, pulling gloves on to prevent his leaving any fingerprints.

"Ask the boss to get you a video game to play while you wait."

"Tetris isn't any fun on a small LCD screen."

"Geez you sure complain a lot. Look, here's the cell phone, call me when you're done."

"Sure, sure." Bakura got out of the car and waited till Louis drove off. Then he walked over to the house, pushed open a window, and settled down to watch TV and wait.

It was two hours later when a lock clicked in the front door and it opened. Bakura got to his feet and slipped around the corner to meet his victim, gun ready to shoot.

The person screamed, and Bakura froze with his finger on the trigger, staring into the face of a woman, probably in her twenties still, as she shrunk back in terror.

"Oh shit…you're not the guy." He finally said aloud.

"P-Please, don't hurt me…I'll give you my money-"

"I don't want your money, just calm down." Bakura said frantically, mind racing. "Look, just…sit down against the wall."

The woman complied, pulling her skirt down around her feet shyly. She was quite young, probably just out of medical school. He guessed that she was a medic of some type, due to the emblem on the left side of her jacket. Having been struck into terror by the sight of the gun, she fell silent. Bakura glanced around anxiously.

_Now what? No one told me there was a chick that lived here…I'm not supposed to kill her, I don't have to. But if I let her go, she could go to the police, tell them my description…people know me, eventually everyone will figure out that it was me that killed the other people, it'll be on the News and the police will be after me…the boss'll be really pissed off, and Yami…Yami'll know what sort of person I am…_

He chewed a fingernail and glanced down toward the woman. _I don't have to kill her, she's not my target. But if she tells the authorities…the Boss'll be so damn mad…not even my ability as a shooter would be able to save me, he'd send someone to kill Yami…_

The answer was simple.

Bakura raised the gun. The woman began whimpering. "Please, don't hurt me, I'm just a nurse! Mr. Holmes is at a meeting for his club, I'm just his nurse!"

_If she told anyone I was here, the boss would send someone to kill Yami…_

"Please, please don't hurt me!"

_I can't let anything happen to Yami._

"I really am sorry about this." He muttered, and fired twice before he even looked up, having-for the first time-squeezed his eyes shut when he fired. There hadn't been much danger of missing with his target at point-blank range and the fact that she had been frozen to the spot in fear. And, somewhat to his relief, the first shot had torn her whole neck apart, so she probably died quickly enough. Slow and painful deaths belonged only to those that deserved them, he thought.

He lowered the gun and pulled her into the other room to prevent anyone else that might walk in from seeing her. If one nurse showed up, who was to say there wouldn't be others? Bakura had enough bullets for a whole party, but he wasn't sold on the idea of killing every freaking person that walked in, so he hoped she would be the only one.

It was only a half-hour later when the door opened again and this time the real target walked in. Bakura didn't even let the man make it two steps in before firing. The puzzled look on the dead man's face suggested that a white-haired guy with an Uzi was not who he expected to meet when he walked in. Bakura didn't bother to hang around, he walked outside and called Louis, who was busy goofing off at the Arcades and Gambling shop down the street. After a good deal of shouting over the sounds of pinball machines, Louis got the idea, and said he'd be there in just a minute. Louis hadn't lived in Domino, so he didn't have to worry about being recognized.

Bakura closed the cell phone up and sat down to wait. Off in the distance he heard sirens, but paid no attention to them, until they began to sound closer and closer. Suspicious, he stood up. The sirens were growing steadily louder. Now worried, he dashed toward the thin string of trees separating the house from a neighborhood nearby. Just as he concealed himself behind one, two police cars pulled up.

Bakura cursed to himself. Someone must have heard the woman screaming. Waiting for Lou herewas out of the question. Soon the cops, who were presently knocking politely on the door, would figure out that the only people in the house were dead, and Bakura had no intention of waiting around for that to happen. So he did what any sensible gun-toting person near a crime scene would do. He left.

Louis eventually found him down in the warehouse district of the city, sitting behind a loading dock, bored, and having done far too much thinking.

"There you are!" He called out the window.

Bakura got in and shut the door without comment.

"What are you doing way over here, anyway? I pulled up at the place to find it swarming with cops, I thought you'd been caught!"

"I never get caught." Bakura retaliated, his pride stung.

"What happened?"

"I guess some Good Samaritan heard the chick screaming-"

"What chick?"

"The one that walked in while I was trying to watch Quiz de Pon." Bakura glanced down at his hands. "I killed her too. It wasn't a difficult choice. She might have told the police about me, and if the boss found out, Yami would be in danger. The answer was right there." He shrugged.

Louis nodded.

"Lou, you know what the hell of all this is?" Bakura suddenly asked.

"What?"

"The hell of it is that after all of this, Yami is still never going to care about me." He tossed his hands in the air with a bitter laugh. "And I fell in love with him, of all the people. It's like a cruel joke. All my life, I never loved anyone. I was just cold and angry and I hated the world. And I wanted to kill every sorry person who crossed my path. And in doing so, I was _glad _that Yami hated me. It was just the way things were. And what's really funny is that after all that, it's Yami I'm protecting. The person I wanted to kill and hated more than anyone else…the truth is that deep down, I still truly love him. So much that I changed to try to be someone he would like. So much that I wish I'd never done some of the things I did. All this for a person that will never be able to return how I feel." He folded his arms. "That's the hell of it. Life sucks and then you die. I guess that saying is true."

Louis shook his head. "I don't think Yami hates you."

"You don't even know him."

"Look at everything you've done for him though. You're putting him ahead of your own freedom. How could he hate you when it's obvious you care so much?"

"Louis, I think it's a wonderful thing that you can live in a fantasy world where rainbows connect the clouds and people never get hurt and everyone that loves gets loved back and it rains pretty sparkly fairy dust. But that's not how MY life works. In my life, there's no rainbows, there's no sparkly fairy dust, people get hurt for stupid reasons, no one gets what they deserve, and love is just a wish." He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. "In the end…that's all it is." He muttered. "An illusion we create for comfort. In the end, love is just an impossible dream and we should just let it go and stop fooling ourselves."

Louis watched him in concern. He'd never heard Bakura talk that way before. His tone wasn't an angry one either; it was just sort of empty and sad. "Bakura, you can't go around thinking like that. Love has to be worth more than what you say, because if it wasn't, you wouldn't be doing this."

"You're right!" Bakura began laughing. "Because no matter how stupid it is, I still love him! Even though he hates me and will never be able to understand why I've done what I have, and even though fate has conspired against me at every step, I still love the guy!"

"I don't think that's funny." Louis said seriously. "I don't think that should be a joke. Are you on drugs? Because you're acting more spazzy than usual."

Bakura stopped and shook his head. "Nope, I'm not on drugs. That's the scary thing, I came up with all this stuff without the influence of anything. So I've got nothing to blame it on." He folded his arms over his knees. "I think I'm loosing it. All this stuff…it's getting to my head. Something snapped in me today when I shot the girl. Before it was just something I had to do. Something I had no choice about. And then today I had a choice. No one made me kill her. No one was threatening to hurt Yami if I didn't. And I made my choice and my choice was to shoot her, and I hardly had any second thoughts. I feel sort of numb, but no matter how hard I try, I can't make myself feel guilty, when I know I should." He rested his chin on his arms, eyes downcast. "I wanted to change, and I thought, for a while, that I really had begun to. Now I think I'm still the sadistic freak I always was. I'll never be anything else, so I don't know why I'm trying. Maybe I should just give up." He rolled his head to the side, eyes now trained on the sky outside the window. "Maybe I should just run away and let them do whatever to Yami. That's what I would have done before."

"No!" Louis pulled off the road and turned around in his seat. "You can't do that! Bakura, I know you're all upset right now, but you'd eventually regret it if you ran away. I don't know a whole lot about who you were, but I know you're not a bad person now. You can't be as bad as you say you are. I've seen you risk a lot just to protect Yami. And I know that, no matter what you might say, you'd never do that to him."

They stared at each other for a moment. Finally Bakura stretched out his legs and sighed. "And now I'm being lectured by a college student." He said. "But as much as I hate to admit it, I suppose you have a point. You're right, I can't run away. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to him." He sighed again, frowning. "I just wouldn't be able to."

"Well, now that you're done letting out steam, would you mind stopping for a break?" Louis asked. Bakura nodded. They had planned this earlier, to stop someplace so that Bakura could tell Louis in privacy about what he'd found on the computer, and so that he could rid himself of the incriminating videotape he'd stolen.

They parked at the other end of the warehouse district, near a house being built. No one was there because it was a Sunday. They got out of the car and walked a good distance away before Louis asked,

"So, what did you find out from his computer?"

"They're building something." Bakura replied,breakingthe video in half, tossing itinto a dumpster and sitting down. Nearby was a telephone pole, pieces of paper fluttering from it. Old advertisements and posters people had stuck on it, no doubt.

"Do you know what it is?"

"I'm not an architect. I couldn't tell the plans to a tree house from those of a mansion unless someone told me which was which. But it's something big, there was a lot of different calculations."

"Did you find blueprints or something?"

"No, I found a program on his computer that had them. Exactly what it's for, I don't know."

A gust of wind blew one of the tattered pieces of paper off the pole and it skittered along the ground. Louis got up to retrieve it.

"It's just a piece of paper." Bakura called. "It's biodegradable."

"But it might be a Missing poster for someone." Louis protested, jogging after it. "It shouldn't be left on the ground, it could be for someone that was kidnapped. Maybe it was put up by the parents of a missing kid, we can't just leave it on the ground."

"Probably someone just lost their dog or something." Bakura said, unconcerned. "Or are having a yard sale."

"Nah, it's one of those "Have You Seen this Person" posters." Louis replied, pouncing on the paper and dusting it off against his jeans. "Lessie who's missing today…oh God, I don't believe it…"

"What? Is it someone you've seen before? Is there a reward?" Bakura stood up and walked over, curious now.

"I sure as heck have seen them before. It's a poster for _you, _Bakura."

"What!" Bakura snatched it and studied the picture and name. "Hey, it is for me! Who the hell would go around putting up posters of me? What am I, some sort of missing pet?It's not like anyone really misses me…" He scrutinized the paper. "Shoot, they got my height wrong, I'm two inches shorter than that…I'm 25 years old now? Do I look 25? And this picture is terrible…who made this?" He glanced down at the bottom and saw three phone numbers to call. One he recognized as Ryou's number, which made some sense. Ryou WAS his other self after all and they shared a last name, so it was reasonable he would be listed as family, but what about the other two?

"What are you doing?" Louis asked as Bakura snatched the cell phone from his pocket and began dialing. The second number turned out to be the Hotline for Missing People, a place that would report to the police if you told them you saw someone. Hitting the plunger button on the kind male voice that kept asking a quizzical, "Can I help you?", Bakura punched in the third number.

The person picked up after four rings, a low, calm voice asking politely, "Hello?"

Bakura knew the voice within a second and hung up before the other person could say anything else.

"Well? Who was it?" Louis asked impatiently. "I wanna know!"

"It…it was Yami." He replied, staring at the phone in almost disbelief. Why would Yami's number be on the poster? That didn't make any sense, he wasn't family, and of all the other people…it hit Bakura like a semi truck. "He does care about me! He really…cares about me."

"I hate to say I told you so…but I did." Louis said smugly. "I did tell you he cared."

"Remind me to thank you one day." Bakura said. He turned back to the pole and tugged one of the tacks out, spearing the poster and carefully putting it back up.

"What are you doing that for?" Louis asked curiously. Bakura looked away and up toward the sky again, before smirking and replying,

"They went through all the trouble to make posters for me…I shouldn't leave them lying around on the ground."

Louis smiled and laughed. "I'm glad to see you have your spirit back."

Bakura have Louis his trademark sideways glance. "Oh, don't you worry, I'm still in on trying to find a way out. Don't think I've given up."

"And I'm still willing to help!"

But, almost as if to mock their attempts at secrecy, the moment Bakura returned to the compound and reached the third floor, the boss emerged from his office and announced,

"Bakura, I need to talk to you."

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Happy Valentine's Day everybody! Guess what? You just got ch. 8 as your gift from me to you. :niko:

Quiz de Pon is another creation of Maki Murakami's. She had her characters participate on a game show called that in her manga, and the name was catchy. So I borrowed it. Murakami-sama, I'm sorry I keep borrowing all your ideas! I promise one day I'll get an original idea of my own! If I ever publish anything for money, I swear I'll actually use an idea of my own!

Poor Bakura. Everything had to go and get messed up. The guy just can't win, can he? Well, at least he knows Yami cares. I think his reaction is cute. 'Cute' really isn't a good word to describe an evil spirit…but heck, his reaction was cute, there's no other word. :shrug: Bakura's not so sadistic anymore, anyway. Now he's just unstable. :laughs: Aw, he's so likeable at heart though! He's also so very anguish-y in this chapter. I can't blame him, he was bound to start to lose it eventually. I mean, after all that shyt…who wouldn't start to lose it? You could see something of an emotional break-down starting to come in ch. 6 after all, it all just came to a head here. It was difficult to write him seeming so downhearted, but I like the way it came out. In fact, I really like the way it came out. This is a first…yeah, this was a good chapter, it was fun to write.

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: Aww, it's okay. The demn Author Alert thingys have done that SAME thing to me with authors I am watching, it drove me up the walls. Ack, I just love the ctrl-alt-del combo. It's nice to know it's there to save my bum when I screw up. :laughs: Paper jams do make for great humour…yay, Doom arc RULES! Alister is such the bishounen, really. My dad thought he was a girl too, and Varon is funny. It's just such a nice arc. :niko:

You Know Us: Oh dear...I'm sorry Michelle-chan! I didn't mean to nearly give you a heart attack over your not-crush. :laughs: Of COURSE not...not a crush at all...Hehehe. Aww, Louis does seem a lot like Joey, ne? He's like, part Joey and part Shuichi. (Charrah from a different series). He's likeable at heart though. Well, nomatter what, we must save Yami, ne? Michelle-chan may kill me if Bakura does not...though of course this is all for someone she has no crush on. :nods: I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, I thought it was a fitting V-day sort of chapter. Ee...I don't wanna know what she'll do if she gets impatient...:skuttles off:

Well everyone, I have to say, I hope you've liked this one. It was going to be posted tomorrow but I went through the trouble to get it up today for you! Aww, and plus, it makes for a cute V-day chapter what with Bakura's emotions over Yami and all. Once again, happy Valentine's day to everyone, andto Bakura and Yami!

Later-


	9. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 09

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Nine:

"You wanted something?" Bakura forced his voice to remain level as he leaned back in the chair before the higher-up's desk. Any number of things could be the reason for this meeting. Perhaps the boss had noticed the printer, maybe Blair had told him he'd caught him in the basement, maybe he'd been caught on camera in the basement the second time, maybe Louis hadn't been on level after all and had blabbed to the boss about his plans…

"Yes, I just wanted to let you know that I ordered those Tonfa Blasters for you. You've been a good worker, you only fought back with me once, and I think you deserve them. You're welcome to set up a target out back, for whenever you'd like to use them."

"That's it?" Bakura asked before he could stop himself.

"Huh?"

"That's it…like, that's all there is to it? They're on their way?" He quickly mended his comment.

"Yep."

"Hey, that's great." Bakura got to his feet. "I can't wait."

"Well, you have been a good worker. Unlike _some _people. Someone came into my office the other day and stole the tape out of my camera. I think they might have been snooping."

"Really?" Bakura felt his chest grow rather cold. "What do you think they were after?"

"I don't know, but it's disconcerting to know that someone would search my office without my permission." He folded his hands across his desk and looked around. "It's always alarming when someone finds his private sanctuary to have been rifled, you know?"

"Ne…yes, yes, that's pretty bad." Bakura nodded fervently. "Terrible. I hope you catch whoever it was."

"As do I. And on top of it all, I have to order some more printer paper." He waved an order form. "Somehow, all the paper I had was used up."

"Weird." Bakura said.

"Say, do you have any idea who might have been in here? You're on this floor after all. For some reason, the cameras outside my room were tampered with too, the dates are all messed up, so I don't know what date the videos were taken on, and I can't tell who came in here when."

Bakura very much hoped he hadn't gotten a tan at any time recently, because he had a feeling his face was becoming pale. The cameras outside, he'd forgotten about those. But now to his great luck, someone had scrambled the dates. Who? He pushed the thoughts aside and concentrated on the matter at hand. "I wouldn't even know where to start." Then he got an idea and added smoothly, "But if I had to guess? I'd say Blair."

"Blair?"

"Yeah, you know, I hear things around here."

"Do you really?"

"Yeah." Bakura nodded and lowered his voice. "I heard he's getting mad about, you know, being your right-hand man. He wants to take over the whole thing so that people will treat him with the respect he thinks he should have."

"Does he now?"

"Yeah, the rumour is that he thinks you're holding back information from him about your business…I don't know what it is, obviously, but other people that do know, I'd heard them talking. At least, I'm pretty sure they used Blair's name." He paused thoughtfully for realistic appearances.

"Hmmn, I'll have to ask Blair about it." The boss replied, scribbling something on a piece of notepaper. "Thank you, Bakura."

"You're welcome." Bakura turned and strode toward the door, and was nearly out it when the boss called,

"Bakura, if I could ask another favor…"

Bakura froze and whirled around. "Yes?"

The boss produced a handful of envelopes. "Could you deliver these to some houses for me? It would be best if they didn't go through regular post."

Bakura snatched the envelopes and nodded. "Sure, sure, I'll do that."

"Can you drive? You can take the small white car."

"Sure I can drive." He grabbed the keys and left before the boss could find any other reason to keep him behind.

In the hall he met Louis, who asked what the boss had wanted. Bakura waved the envelopes and told him it was nothing important. He repeated that someone had been in the boss's office, and mentioned the scrambled camera dates.

"Probably pretty handy for whoever was in there." He said quietly.

Louis smiled and slowly closed one eye in a wink. Bakura stared back and finally glanced up at the cameras and back toward Louis, who gave a slight smile and replied, "Well, if it was Blair, I sure hope the boss punishes that guy like hell."

He waved once and walked off. Bakura kept on down the hall, thinking, _I wonder if this means I owe him one now...?_

* * *

About an hour later, Bakura stopped the car beside a mailbox and stuck the envelope inside, rolling the tinted window back up and driving off. This delivery job offered him a lot of time to think in peace. _The boss, asking me all that stuff…what if he already knows it was me in there?_

He signaled for a right turn and cruised down a quiet side road. _And then there's Lou…he thinks fast, scrambling those dates for me like that…but how'd he do it? He must have gotten access to the camera controls, but how? I never thought I'd find him covering for a mistake I made._

He patted the side of his jeans where he'd stored the papers he'd printed out, the important ones. He never went anywhere without them now, and had sewn a pocket for them inside his jeans so that he could always keep them nearby. That way, in case his room was searched again, at least the evidence would be hidden well.

_I wish I could figure out what these plans are for. A building? A car? Boat maybe? Some type of machinery? I can't tell. If I could just get access to the Internet, I might be able to look them up and translate the English. But where am I going to find a safe computer to use?_

He pulled up to a long road and got out with a sigh. Great, more walking. He was tired after the stressful day so far and didn't feel like walking. Still…it was the last envelope. Then he could go back to his room and sleep for the rest of the day. Finally.

He'd just closed the door of the mailbox when he heard someone shouting his name from behind him.

"Bakura!"

_Oh no…_

He spun around to see the one person, the only person, whose voice he had memorized. They were running toward him, waving. Bakura's first instinct was to make a dash for the car, but his legs locked up as they approached.

_Yami…_

* * *

Louis was relaxing in his room, watching TV, thinking to himself about stuff. Mainly about his partner that he was get-away driver for.

_Bakura's an okay guy, I think. _He thought, flipping through the channels. _He talks about how he's a bad friend and how he's killed people, but deep down, I think he's on the level. And he's always so worried about Yami. It's like that's all that he cares about. That's pretty amazing, he has no fears for himself. I wish I could be fearless like that! If anyone ever gets out of this place alive, I bet Bakura would be the person to do it._

He sat up and put down the remote thoughtfully.

_And he said he'd get me out too if he found a way. That's pretty damn generous of him considering I haven't done anything worth much. I haven't helped him at all, and he put his trust in me to help him save Yami and all those people he says are in danger! And I haven't been any help. Sure, I scrambled those dates on the cameras, but that wasn't much. I should do something more._

He considered what Bakura had said about the basement. Maybe down there, he would be able to find some more information that would help. It was certainly worth a try. Bakura had mentioned some things written in English. Louis knew a good deal of English because of his journalism major, and considered that maybe he could translate it. A part of his mind nagged that Bakura had warned him against going down there, but he ignored it.

He slunk down the hall and located the staircase on the first floor. Glancing around, he turned the knob in the door and found it unlocked. Inside, it looked as though someone had just been in there. Papers, scattered around the table, and the brightly-lit computer screens tempted him. He wasn't sure where to start looking. The large-busted woman on one screen attracted his college-boy attention and he decided that was a good place to start. After about a half-hour, he straightened up in excitement. That was it! So that was what the people in the building were hiding.

"Man, Bakura's going to freak out when he sees that I found this stuff out for him." He said to himself gleefully. "He's going to be so happy! And I actually helped…boy, soon we'll be out of here and he can go back to Yami and I can go home…"

He didn't notice when someone else opened the door behind him.

* * *

"Bakura! Where have you been?" Yami slowed to a walk and finally stopped a few feet in front of him. "Have you seen the posters? You've been missing for so long, we got worried. I _knew _I saw you the other night. Why were you standing outside my window? I came outside to look for you, but you'd left."

Bakura just stared blankly ahead, mind racing. _This isn't happening, Yami didn't just catch me out here, in a few moments I'll wake up and this is another dream…_

"Bakura?" Yami was bewildered by the lack of response. "Are you okay?"

Bakura shook his head, realizing now that it wasn't a dream after all, and worried about the Uzi, which was laying in the backseat of the car. If Yami got one look at it, if he put two and two together and figured out that Bakura was the mysterious shooter around Domino…

"Is something wrong? Are you in some type of trouble?" Yami finally asked. "Look, if you're in trouble, I can try to help…"

_Help. _Bakura's mind finally clicked into gear. So fast, in fact, that Bakura startled himself. _Yami CAN help…he's got a computer._

Quickly, Bakura dug into the waistband of his jeans and produced the papers.

"I need you to do research on these." He finally answered, thrusting them toward Yami.

"Huh?" Yami asked, taking the papers before he could think otherwise.

"Please, research these, and mail the results to my apartment, and disguise them really well!"

"I don't get it. What is this, plans for a new house or something?" Yami asked, turning the papers upside down and narrowing his eyes quizzically at them. "A new house in America?" he added, squinting at the English text.

"I don't know, you need to find that out for me." Bakura replied, edging toward the car. "Just find out what it is. You have the Internet. You can find anything on the Internet. Mail whatever you find to my apartment. Disguise it inside a magazine or something discreet."

Yami looked up. "Bakura, please tell me what's going on. First you vanish, then you're standing outside my house like a stalker, then you vanish again, now here you are delivering mail to this house in a car you never had before. Your apartment is empty, your manager is all, "Bakura? Who's Bakura?", You haven't been seen by anyone so I know you're hiding someplace. What the heck is up with all this? Do you have something to do with those murders?"

The soft purple of Yami's eyes was starting to wear on Bakura extremely heavily. It had always been those damn purple eyes that captivated him, the way so many different emotions could hide in them at the same time. He'd studied his own eyes in the mirror and seen in them only mischief and shadows. Yami's eyes on the other hand…at one moment they were clear and expressive and then the next, dark and secretive…they were so different from his own, and they nearly hypnotized him at close range. Right now, they were soft and clear as day. Bakura hardly even noticed that Yami had mentioned the murders until he was able to stop studying his face. He snapped to attention.

"Just find that stuff out and mail it to me. And then, after that, you've got to get out of-" Bakura was cut off when he saw a car turning down the road.

"Dammit." He swore, making a break for his own car. He couldn't let anyone else know he was around.

"Wait!" Yami called, stepping forward. Bakura slammed the car door and floored the accelerator, the tires squealing a bit on the take-off as he sped down the street, leaving an extremely puzzled-looking Yami standing alone on the sidewalk.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes:

This was such a short chapter! When I wrote this one out in the outline, it seemed so much longer. How did that happen! I apologize…well, at least something interesting happened in this one. Yami and Bakura finally had a meeting! And the mysterious papers have changed hands. Maybe now we can get someplace with this sl…next chapter will be a big revelation. It's going to be a very important turning point! And it should be longer than this one…I'm pretty sure. Plus, a few new layers will be added, so we can all look forward to those as well. But until then, this chapter wasn't totally pointless. There's some details that shouldn't be sneezed at, for sure. Or, as the wannabe 'gangtas' at my school would say, "Fo sho."

Okay, that was random.

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: Good, it was supposed to be funny! xD Bakura can be such an amusing character. Then again, he can be a lot of things. O.o That police write-up is hilarious…but how insulting would that be? I can see her point!

You Know Us: Hmmn…And yet Michelle-chan still claims she does not have any sort of crush. Aww, but I'm so glad you liked it. :niko: O.o big word. Decompensating. That sounds as though it would be painful. Hopefully Bakura will be able to pull out of it! Maybe his meeting with Yami will help him out, ne? Bakura always has been a little psycho, let's just hope he can keep his head on straight for now. He must protect Yami! (Or I fear we'll all be in danger of annihilation by the Keep Yami Safe Campaign…)

Well, this has been posted a day early! We had a half-day of school on Friday and I thus was able to finish it sooner. And no school tomorrow! President's Day and all. What fun! Anyhoo, I hope you've enjoyed chapter nine, and I'll see you here next week.

Jaa!


	10. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 10

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Ten:

Yami blinked at his reflection on the monitor as his computer started up, and glanced down at the fistful of papers.

"Research." He said aloud, smoothing the sheets out. "What could be the point of trying to research what this is? And how am I even going to figure it out at all?"

After the odd meeting with his former enemy, he'd gone home and surprised himself by turning the computer on. He wasn't sure why he was even paying attention to what Bakura had asked of him. Part of him considered that this might be some kind of joke. Bakura had always been like that, everything he did had another motive behind it. It was entirely possible that all this: his disappearance, his sudden reappearance outside Yami's window, the strange meeting, these papers, his request…that all of it was just a big joke Bakura had thought up out of boredom or spite or both. That was the sort of thing Bakura would do, send Yami off on a wild goose chase just for laughs, or maybe in order to distract him from something else. And then what was the last thing Bakura had tried to tell him? _You've got to get out of_…? What did that mean? What was he supposed to get out of?

But still, there had been something different in Bakura's voice. Normally sly and almost joking when he was planning something, instead today his voice had been completely serious. No hint of an amused laugh. And what was all this stuff about disguising whatever the research might turn up? Maybe Bakura _was_ in some sort of trouble. Yami found it hard to imagine anyone that could threaten the evil spirit into doing something, but it was possible.

The computer was completely booted, and Yami-against what his reasonable part of his mind was saying-decided to do the research anyway. It might be a joke, but it also might not be. When Mahaado had incarnated him into his own body, he'd asked him to give Bakura a second chance too because he truly thought that, deep down, there was a decent person inside the spirit. But Bakura was never going to feel like a friend unless people put their trust in him, Yami thought. This was his chance to show Bakura that he could count on people.

"Awright Bakura, I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Bakura returned to the Compound feeling half exhausted from all the stress, and half gleeful because he knew he'd passed on the information to the best person he could. He was counting on Yami to use that trusting instinct of his and believe him. If he didn't…well, at least the papers were no longer in the building. No evidence, no danger, after all.

"Did everything go well?" Bakura jumped, startled, at the sound of someone's voice beside him. It was the boss, carrying a new sheaf of paper that he shifted to his other arm when Bakura tried to see what was on it.

"Yeah, went fine. Oh…here," he dug the keys out of his pocket and handed them to the man. "These are yours."

"Thank you."

"Hey, I wanted to ask, would it be possible for someone to pick up my mail from my apartment? See, I used to enjoy getting mail and stuff, and I have a lot of magazine subscriptions. I'd like to read them."

"Sure, I'll get someone to pick the mail up for you from now on."

"Thanks." Bakura gave a quick salute and closed the door to his room, curling up on his bed with a sigh. Well, at least now he finally had some time to do that relaxing he'd been wanting to. Maybe later he'd go see about dinner and could search out Louis in the dining hall, to tell him all about what was going on. He'd be glad to know that the papers had been passed onto someone that could research the information and see what they could find. Despite himself, the kid really wasn't that bad, and he was almost rather likeable.

_He just got caught up in a lot of stuff that's over his head. _Bakura thought. _But he's not that bad of a person. He's the kind of guy that Yugi and all them would get along with. And he has been helping me out, which is a nice change._

Closing his eyes, he was plunged into a deep, dreamless sleep within moments. The exhaustion from the past few days was so thick that he didn't wake up until someone shook him bodily.

"Wha-who?" He sat up and smacked at the person, who he then saw was a young woman in a blue jumpsuit. _One of those computer-engineer-type people. _He thought.

"The boss has called a meeting in the large room on the fourth floor." She said. "He sent me to tell everyone."

"Fourth floor, right." Bakura yawned. "Okay, I'm going."

She left as Bakura got to his feet and ran his fingers through his hair, annoyed about being woken up. But this was the first time a real meeting of everyone in the building had been called, and he was curious about why.

Sauntering into the room, he opted to lean against the wall instead of taking a seat in one of the folding chairs. The room was fairly large, large enough to accommodate everyone. 'Everyone' included the group of blue-jumpsuited people, a few in crisp business suits, and a lot of people in regular street clothes. There were those as young as Louis and others old enough to be grandparents. Lou, Blair, and the boss were nowhere to be found among the group, Bakura noted.

The mystery of the higher-up was solved when he looked to the front of the room and saw the boss standing there, arms behind his back as he waited patiently.

Eventually everyone that was going to show up must have shown up, because the room quieted down. Bakura noticed with an uneasy feeling that everyone in the room seemed…subdued almost. As if they expected something bad. He wondered what it was. And where the hell was Louis, anyway?

"My valued workers." The boss began. Bakura rolled his eyes, and wondered if he'd get in trouble if he slipped out and went back to bed. "You've all been called here today, because of something that happened. Now, all of you are important to this project. And yes, some of you are much more informed on the master plan than others. But I trust you all to keep your places, and to not betray me. Sadly, someone did betray me."

_Great, I bet this is about that office break-in. _Bakura thought.

"I've warned you all time and time again about the dangers of stepping out of line. Some of you joined me willingly, but others, yes, I've forced you to stay here, and to do your jobs. I made a certain threat to keep you here, and I always make good on my threats, if I have to. Today, I had to. So I've called you all here to remind you that, as long as you work for me, you must not try to cross your boundaries. And this young man, has learned the hard way."

The door beside Bakura opened and Blair strode in, something slung over his shoulder. There was a collective group gasp. Bakura blinked in shock, frozen to the spot. Now he knew why his get-away driver was absent from the room. The college student was now draped limply over Blair's shoulder, a large hole in the side of his head, blood drenching his torso, and a rather surprised look forever imprinted in his unblinking eyes.

A few people stood up right there, and made a run for the door, hands clamped over their mouths, as Blair dumped the body on the floor beside the boss and folded his arms.

"Louis Taque out stepped his place as a get-away driver." The boss pronounced his last name like 'tock'. It occurred to Bakura's suddenly numbed mind that he'd never known the kid's last name before. "He went searching in a place he never should have known about, and he paid the price I told him he would. Now, I don't know what made him do something so foolish, but let this be a lesson to you all: Don't repeat his mistake. You are dismissed."

The room emptied out in about three seconds flat. Only a few people were left behind, staring in morbid fascination at the body. Bakura was among them, but he wasn't looking at Louis. He was instead staring at the floor blankly, his mind replaying the short time he'd known the student.

"_My parents…they've got to be really worried about me. I feel bad about what I might be doing to them. I'd really like to see my family again."  
_"_I'm really not brave or anything…"  
_"_That's a noble cause…you're a good friend."_

Beside him, the boss left the room with the remaining people, followed by Blair, toting Louis's body. Out of sight of his superior, Blair gave Bakura a look and whispered,

"He was searching in a place he wasn't supposed to know was there."

Bakura narrowed his eyes. Blair raised his eyebrows, and let the door slam behind him. The room was now empty. Bakura clenched his fist.

_This is my fault. I told him about that basement. I bet that's where he was._

Before his incarnation, before Yami had been so kind to him that day, the death of someone he was using for his own benefit wouldn't have fazed Bakura in the least. He would have been rather entertained, in fact. Letting people down had been fun, back then.

Now, he suddenly felt guilt so deep, it scared him. Sure, maybe Louis was a hyperactive college student that memorized too many random things for his own good, but he had been a decent person. All he'd wanted was to get out of this job and see his family. He'd looked up to Bakura, in fact. He'd trusted him to help him find a way out. He'd even helped save Yami's life by scrambling those dates on the cameras. Maybe he could be irritating at times, but he had still been one of the only people who hadn't treated Bakura like the scum of the Earth. He hadn't deserved to die.

"Dammit…this is my fault, if I'd never told him about that basement, if I'd never asked him to get involved…" Bakura grit his teeth. "One more person I've killed…and this wasn't even a stranger. Lou was nice to me. Yami could never forgive this." _I'm not even sure I can forgive this._

He sunk to the floor, his guilt giving way to anger. The past events were so fresh in his mind that it all felt like a dream. But it was no dream, he knew it. And now that what had happened, happened, he also knew that sulking about it wasn't going to help anything. Rather like back at Kuru Eruna. That time, he'd chosen to be impulsive and get revenge, and had, he reflected, gotten himself stuck inside a piece of metal for 5000 years, among other things. And this time there was more at stake. Though blasting the heads off of Blair and the boss would be an excellent way to inflict Lou's revenge, it wasn't practical. One mistake, and Yami could be dead. Which left him with only one choice: put Louis's death behind him and worry about getting the student's revenge later. He didn't like the plan, but Louis was dead and nothing would change that, so he could wait.

His choice made, Bakura got to his feet and walked back to his room, and pulled out the Uzi from under the bed. "You and me are on our own now." He told the gun quietly as he pulled out the separate pieces and spent the next two hours polishing it for therapy.

Two weeks passed without any other incident. Bakura spent most of his time in his room. To his surprise, he actually missed Louis. Maybe the goody-goody companions of Yami had a point, he reflected, when it came to having friends. It could be sort of lonely without someone to talk to. He didn't try to return to any rooms he wasn't supposed to be in, and amused himself by watching TV and taunting Blair. That was the only thing fun anymore.

One morning, the door opened and someone Bakura didn't recognize tossed him a magazine in a plastic wrap. "Your mail." He said without any ceremony, and shut the door. Bakura recognized it as one of his favorite machine-gun magazines, but he wasn't in the mood to read it. He wasn't in the mood to do much of anything. He was sulking, bored, and irritated by his lack of doing anything worthwhile. So he dropped the magazine, still encased in its plastic, into a drawer and left the room to see if the dining hall still had any hot ramen. And it wasn't till that evening before he finally opened the magazine to see if it had an order form for bullets in it, because he needed some more, and the magazine would sell them by bulk. Tearing off the plastic, he opened the magazine to the center fold, and an envelope fell out.

"Huh?" He picked it up of the floor and turned it over. There was no writing on it. He wondered if maybe it was some type of promotional thing. In curiosity, he ripped off the top and pulled out a single sheet of notebook paper, and felt his heart leap. It was the results of Yami's research! He recognized Yami's handwriting right away. Fumbling for the plastic wrap, he now saw the razor-thin cut that had been made in it, and then sealed with a thin strip of glue.

"I knew he'd come through." Bakura muttered to himself, impressed. He turned his back to where he knew the video camera was installed in his room, reading the note feverishly. When finished, he sat down on the bed, struck into shock once again. Now he knew what Louis must have figured out.

Yami's letter was brief and to-the-point, just the way the guy himself often was, and spared no time for introductions: _Where the hell did you find these prints? They're for a high-powered laser that was rumoured to be in development by a top-secret American military base. A few years ago, a tabloid announced that the plans had been stolen by someone, but this was never proven. The laser, when completed, is supposedly powerful enough to wipe out a decent-sized country very quickly._

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes:

This chapter was…interesting to write. I had to kill off Lou, which was sad because I liked the guy. He was a likable OC, and since I created him, it was difficult to kill him. But, it had to be done. For the sake of the fic, I will do anything… Anyway, It was also difficult to write for a guilty Bakura. Let's face it, he's not often sunk in guilt over people's demises. I think I did well enough. The end too, was hard because I wanted it to be serious, but not so serious it was stupid-sounding. So really, the whole chapter was a rather new thing for me. I hope I did okay! I'm really glad this is starting to move along. Yay! Another layer! Now we can be pretty sure that whatever these guys plan to do with that laser, it's not a good thing. But still, go Yami! Not bad Internet researching for a 5000 year old spirit…

And now there's an added emotional issue for Bakura as well. Someone that actually treated him nicely and who has helped him out has been killed, and you can bet it has to be leaving some type of effect on him. And what would Yami think if he knew?

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: Dang, you're fast. Are you online all the time? It seems like you're right on top of when I post. Ugh, a head cold on your vacation? That sucks! I hope you're feeling better. Oh, I think I know who you're talking about…I can't spell his name either. I like him though, he's cool, he'd be a good mental image to use. Well…would have been, anyway. I'm glad you like my mysteries, they're fun to write. :niko:

You Know Us: It was rather short…but importantly short! Eee…yes, poor Louis-chan didn't make it to see chapter ten unfortunately. But at least things are moving along now, Yami came through, and new information is out. Oh…the Bakura-being-able-to-get-mail-and-his-manager-seeming-to-not-know-who-he-is bit is explained in the next chapter, don'cha worry. And yes Michelle, Yami said he missed Bakura. :laughs: Ahh, romance. Yes, you all must wait. Wait and suffer, syahahaha…ack, okay, that was Shad-kun talking.

Soooo, at least this chapter was a bit longer than the last. This is a plus. I hope you have all enjoyed it! Catch you later, for I am off to collapse. So...much...homework. :spazzy:Jaa!


	11. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 11

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Eleven

"This getting weird." Joey stated as he and his friends left Bakura's apartment building. "Bakura is nowhere to be found. He hasn't been at the shooting range, he hasn't been to the post office, his name isn't on any airline or train computers, he hasn't been seen anyplace on the street, and no one's called about the posters. And now his manager keeps acting as though he never existed, like he doesn't want to acknowledge Bakura ever lived here. It's like he's vanished."

"Maybe he wanted to vanish." Tristan suggested.

"Why?" Joey wanted to know.

"What difference does it make?" Ryou asked. "So he's out on his own, big deal."

"He could be up to something."

"What would he be up to, Joey? He doesn't have his magic anymore. So unless you're going to say he's behind the murders…" Mai trailed off.

Joey shrugged. "You said it, not me."

"Come on, just because there's a serial killer running around someplace, we can't just assume it's Bakura." Yugi replied sensibly. "The people weren't robbed or anything. They were just shot and then the killer vanished. I know Bakura, he'd leave some sort of calling card. Or at the very least, rob them. He's an opportunist."

"Yeah, but he's also psychotic." Joey countered. "And missing. And those people were shot with a sub-machine gun. And Bakura's beloved Uzi is just that."

"Circumstantial evidence." Tea was on Yugi's side. "He's not a murderer."

"I don't think he'd kill someone unless he was really mad at them, or thought he had a reason to." Ryou put in. "That's always been one of his self-appointed rules."

"Yeah, but this is the guy that once blew up his neighbor's car because the car alarm went off during Quiz de Pon. And he got _away_ with it because they never realized it was him that did it." Joey said dryly. "Bakura's idea of 'having a reason to' is different than most people's. For all we know, all these people might have done was bought the last boxes of his favorite cereal at the store, and Bakura would likely see that as worthy of death."

"He does tend to overreact." Mai agreed.

Yami, who had been silent the whole time, blinked, considering telling them about his meeting with the missing person in question, and his research that he'd done for him. The papers he'd been given were still in a drawer at home, and every time he passed it, he wondered about them. He doubted Bakura was the person who stole the plans from the American military since Bakura had never been to America, and anyway, they had been stolen years before. But how the spirit had gotten his hands on them, and what he was doing with them, were questions without answers. He didn't want to think that Bakura had planned something dangerous with them. He wanted to believe that Bakura was innocent-both of the murders, and of whatever else people might try to pin on him.

"But Bakura's changed." Yugi was saying. "He's not evil anymore, right, Yami?"

Yami jerked back to the present. "Anou-"

"So everyone says." Joey muttered darkly. "I don't know about you all but tell me, what proof do we have that he's not evil?"

"His goal was the collect the Millennium Items, and those are gone. What else could he be doing?" Tea asked.

Tristan shrugged. "I'm with Joey, I haven't forgotten all the stuff he put us through. I want to believe he's good just like the rest of you, but wanting something is different than it actually being true."

"I don't know…" Yami said suddenly, feeling like he had to step in and say _something._ For some reason he couldn't stand listening to them assume things. "He could have changed, and we don't have any proof of-"

"Yami, he's the guy that tried to kill you." Mai said, eyebrow raised. "I know you were doing him a nice thing when you resurrected him, but what proof is there that Bakura has any sort of loyalty to us despite that?"

Yami started to reply when Joey cut in, "Really, he's the one that claimed to be willing to help search for your memory and then he turned around and tried to murder you…again. I know you like to believe in the good in people, but Bakura might be one person you just can't help. The guy's bitter and angry, and he's never been willing to let morals stand in his way before. If those people _were _killed by him, who knows if he even had a motive? Maybe he was justhaving fun."

Tristan was nodding. "Yeah, he always was a sadist. Loved to hurt things…how can we trust-"

"Look, I know about all the messed-up things he's done!" Yami suddenly stopped in his tracks and whirled to face them, looking angry. "You don't need to give me a list. I should know better than anyone about his screwed-up mind since it was _my_ uncle that made him who he is, it's my family he hates, and it's me that he's always wanted dead. Yeah, I know he's done terrible things, but even I can't stand here and listen to you make unfounded accusations about him, just because he used to be a certain way!" Turning, Yami took off at a run down the street.

"Yami, wait- I didn't mean-" Joey looked bewildered as he turned to face his friends and raised his arms helplessly. "What's up with him?"

* * *

Bakura was back in Yami's apartment again, running down the hallway, that never-ending hallway. He felt as though he had been running forever, when suddenly, without any warning, Yami appeared before him. Bakura skidded to a stop and managed to catch himself before falling.

"Yami!"

"What is it, Bakura?"

"Yami, I need to tell you something." Bakura stood up before Yami, hands in his pockets. Yami looked back at him evenly.

"What?"

"I killed those people." Bakura said.

"Did you kill Louis too?" Yami asked sternly.

"How do you know about Louis!"

"You've told me, it's in your eyes. You're a murderer, and you know it, you can't hide it."

"Yami, look, I just want to explain-"

"You don't need to explain anything, I know all of it already!" Yami's eyes flashed angrily at Bakura. "I gave you a second chance, and you betrayed me."

"But-"

"I really thought there was someone good inside of you." Yami said, pacing. "I gave you a second chance. But I should have known you'd break my trust. You haven't changed a bit, Touzokuou."

"That's not true! And don't call me that, I'm not a thief anymore. Yami, I killed those people to keep you safe, because I care about you-"

"If you really cared about me, you wouldn't have done this!" Yami snapped. "You wouldn't have become a worthless murderer. This is low Bakura, even for you. You used to have some morals, if only a few."

"I still have morals! I had a choice Yami, kill them or let you die. What was I supposed to do? It wasn't my fault Louis got killed."

"Yes it was, because you used him just like you used everyone else. Like he was nothing to you and you didn't care what might happen to him."

"That's not true!" Bakura protested.

"It is true, and you know it. You can't hide from what is inside you." Yami folded his arms. Bakura took a step back, shaking his head.

"You have it all wrong, I can't be that bad of a person, I can't be. I tried to change…"

"You didn't change." Yami cut him off. "You're the same person you always were."

"Please Yami, I did all of this for you, I was willing to give up anything to save you-"

"You gave up the life of a friend? I'm not worth that."

"Yes you are! And Louis wasn't my friend!"

"He was your friend, you just don't want to admit it. But deep down inside you're plagued by guilt for what happened. But still, you let it happen, you've betrayed me and him and everyone else. You don't deserve any pity."

"I never asked for any!"

"Yes you did. That was in your eyes too. I can see them, begging me to forgive you. But why should I? You don't deserve to be forgiven for what you've done."

"Yami, I didn't see any other way…" Bakura stared down at his hands.

"I don't want to hear any excuses! You've done what you've done, and nothing can change it."

"Yami, please understand…just give me-" Bakura stopped. Yami narrowed his eyes in hatred.

"Give you what? A second chance? No, I won't give you a second chance. I already gave you one and you tossed it aside." He turned.

"Yami, wait!"

Seemingly ignoring him, Yami began walking away. Bakura began to run after him. "Wait!" The ground rolled beneath him and he tripped. "Yami, c'mon, just give me a chance to explain!" Yami vanished into the distance, and at that moment, Bakura sat bolt upright in bed.

"A…a dream. It was just that dream again." Shivering, he felt sweat sliding down his face. "Just that stupid dream." With a sigh, he fell backwards onto his pillows and squeezed his eyes shut. "I've got to get out here soon…this place is messing with my head. I mean, I dream about that hall a lot now, but this is the first time Yami's been there…and what he said…would he really think that of me?"

Unable to fall asleep again, Bakura lay awake in his bed for the rest of the night, thinking. It had been a few days before that he'd received Yami's finds, and questions were plaguing him worse than ever. Had the plans for the laser really been stolen from an American military base? How had the boss gotten a hold of them? What was he going to do with the outline for the weapon? Had this been the information that Louis had died for? And most pressing, on Bakura's mind anyway, what did this have to do with the people he'd been told to kill? Other than the fact that they had all been American, and that the laser was American too, he couldn't find a single similarity. It was almost as if the boss was playing that game that little kids often played, where the rules and object of the game changed at whim and there was no real result except a lot of fun. And had the man been insane, Bakura would have figured that was what it was. Just a game of some sort.

But no, Bakura knew his superior wasn't some maniac, not by a long shot. He was calculated, smart, and thus, quite dangerous. And the plans for a high-power laser in his hands didn't seem very safe.

Bakura rolled onto his stomach and folded his hands under his chin. He wondered what else the tabloid had said about this laser. And where had Yami found the article? For a moment, his cynical self argued that Yami might have made the whole thing up. But it just didn't seem to be Yami's nature to lie.

_I need more information. The story of my life: never with enough information for what I need to know. If I could just get to a computer…but where the heck will I find one of those around here that isn't under camera watch? I could sneak out to the library, but that would be too risky._

In irritation, he sat up and flopped back down on his side with a huff, glaring at the small red light that marked the camera in his room.

"I hate you." He said aloud to it. The light had no reply.

* * *

It wasn't till the next day that he got his idea, and surprisingly, it was his mortal enemy that gave it to him. He was stepping into the third-floor elevator when Blair, fresh from the gym on that floor, walked up behind him and stepped inside too, punching the first floor button. Bakura wrinkled his nose and got as far away from the sweaty body builder as he could. Blair glanced over at him.

"Hey."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. Blair was being civil? This could only mean one thing. He was about to start gloating.

"Guess what it is I got?" he asked smugly

"A book to improve your grammar?" Bakura asked innocently.

"No." Blair was feeling so high and mighty, he didn't even realize it was an insult, and barreled ahead, "I got a computer. It's all hooked up and everything. I've even got the Internet. Jealous?"

Bakura scowled. Great, of that the idiots in this building that _needed _a computer.

"Congratulations. I hope it came with spell check."

Blair shrugged as the elevator came to a stop. "Mouth off all you want, Uzi-boy. You're just jealous that I got the one thing that you need. If only your little friend Louis had been lucky as me, maybe he wouldn't have been so stupid to go using a computer he wasn't supposed to be on, in a room he wasn't supposed to know was there."

It was the first time since his death that anyone had brought up the college student, and the comment brought back the dream from the night before. The memory gave Bakura the great urge to blow something up. Maybe put some C-4 in the elevator. And lock Blair in the elevator with it.

"But of course, it was all an unfortunate accident. He just had some bad luck to find that room, even though the staircase is hidden well enough. But he was just too nosy for his own good."

"Shut up." Bakura said bluntly, pushing the button for the second floor repeatedly.

The last thing he saw before the doors closed was Blair's laughing face. Once the elevator stopped at the second floor, he didn't bother getting out, but instead returned to his own room and began feverishly going through each drawer in the dresser till he found what he was looking for: a small white bottle. He rolled it over till he found the directions on the back. Sleeping capsules. The boss had given them to him the second day there, said that most people were stressed out at first. Bakura had no intention of letting himself fall into a drugged sleep with a bunch of strangers in the building, so he'd dropped the bottle of capsules into the drawer and forgotten about them. Until now. Deciding that more was better than less, he retrieved a plastic bag and methodically opened and emptied every capsule of its powder into the bag, and then slunk down to the gym, where he found a thermos of what he suspected wasn't water. Not that it mattered. He poured a random amount of the sleeping powder into the thing and screwed the lid back on, giving it a few good shakes. Through all his drugs he took, Bakura doubted Blair could taste anything anyway. Then he settled back in his room to wait, remembering with satisfaction the crucial bit of information Blair had let slip several weeks back, the night they'd tricked him into thinking Yami was dead:

"_There's a camera in every room, didn't you know that? I'm one of the only people without one, 'cause the boss trusts me."_

* * *

To his amazement, his plan actually started out brilliantly. As usual every night, Blair returned to the gym for his final work-out of the day and Bakura peered out his door in time to watch Blair stomp by, guzzling from his thermos. About a half-hour later, he snuck up to the fourth floor and located Blair's room. Glancing to the side, he tried the knob and found it unlocked, and upon peeking in, saw Blair sprawled out across his bed. Tentatively, he poked the guy on the arm and, getting no response, congratulated himself. He cleared a path through the mess of magazines and trash on the floor over to the computer, and sat down at it. It turned on without a problem, and Bakura settled back for an in-depth search of the Internet. Here was where he hit his major snag.

He knew almost nothing about the Internet. Unlike Yami, who had thrown himself enthusiastically into the world of electronics and modern-day devices, Bakura still preferred the old-fashioned books and processes of doing things. The only computer contact he ever had was using it when playing one of his TRPG's. That, he was good at. But when it came to the Internet, he was lost.

"I should have thought this out more." He said to himself, and hopefully typed in the names of the three people he'd killed. The search engine found 365,494 results, the first fifteen pages all of which had to do with the newspaper articles about the murders. After a half-hour of trying random keywords, (laser, American military, etc.), he found the tabloid article about the laser theft. It was very brief, and stated only that the laser's plans were just experimental, no one knew if the weapon could actually be assembled or not.

"Well, if no one knows anything, why the hell did you write an article on it?" Bakura demanded of the machine. He glanced over at Blair, who was now starting to snore, and contemplated the satisfaction of smashing the computer down upon Blair's head.

_Well, I guess this would make sense. If the plans were experimental, then all the engineer people and the length of time this has been taking is probably being used to build and test the thing. Which means I might have time to learn more._

By complete coincidence, he happened to look down toward the bottom of the article to see an Editor's note, stating that the weaponry was actually being developed in case of a war. Bakura frowned. He'd heard quite a lot about wars, especially World War II, living in Japan as it was, and mostly people just said a lot of nasty things in secret about how the Americans had bombed them. Always in the mood for a good argument, Bakura often countered that the Americans just wanted revenge. Who wouldn't want revenge after getting dragged into a war?

He knew it was an impossibly long shot, but maybe the boss's utilization of this laser had something to do with another war. Or, when narrowed down to something more reasonable, maybe he wanted to use it for revenge against someone. Of course, lasers…didn't people ever use standard guns anymore?

Bakura yawned. His all-nighter from the day before was once again catching up to him. And anyway, the evening hadn't been for nothing. He'd at least confirmed that Yami had told the truth about the tabloid issue. Whether or not those plans really were to an experimental laser remained to be seen; but against his better judgment, Bakura was considering pushing aside his doubts for once and trusting the former pharaoh. At least on this issue.

He was sorely tempted to switch the computer off without shutting it down, just for the satisfaction of making Blair sit through the corrective issues, but decided not to. The last thing he needed was to leave any evidence he'd been there.

_Well, that was mostly a dead end. _Bakura admitted to himself was he walked back to his room. _But not a pointless one. I know the boss's computer really does have the plans for a weapon, and I have my suspicions. That's a start. It's more than I had. _In his room he took out the photograph of Yami and stared silently at the image for a long time. He vaguely recalled the day he'd clipped it out of the magazine on famous duelists. He sure had gotten a lot of exercise that day, first going to throw the picture away, then running to retrieve it, then forcing himself to toss it again, then going back for it, and so on. The one person he thought was worth protecting…his attachment puzzled even himself sometimes. In his exhaustion, he fell asleep not long later, still clutching the picture.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Awright, you caught me, this chapter almost pointless. Almost, the main word there is "ALMOST". Because this chapter contains a major plot point. We're talking a mega-huge, world record sort of plot point. Can you find it? Better put, if you can find it, do you know what it means? So, rest assured, this boring bunch of jumble DOES have a point to it! For once. :blinks: To be honest, I'm not proud of this chapter. I know it's rushed, it's short, and it's fairly uninformative.Not a very good follow-up from the last chapter. I'm sorry.Next chappy will be an exciting one. I promise, if you'd like to see more of Bakura's moral and emotional issues over Yami, you'll like it! (I hope, anyway…it looks like it'll turn out very cute. We could all stand to use some cuteness. I have F-CATS this week. Writing some cuteness will be a welcome release.)

Well, there _were_ a couple good scenes in here that I liked, I very much like Bakura's guilty conscience weighing on his mind and messing with his dreams. What if Yami really does say that if he ever gets the truth? Poor Bakura! That'd be awful…(but yaaay, angst)…and then Yami's odd outburst. Obviously he harbors some type of feelings for the thief. Ahh, love. It's a terrible, wonderful thing. Kinda like chocolate. :scuttles off to fetch some:

:is now back with chocolate: For those unfamiliar with the Memory arc, Akunadin was Yami's uncle, and it was he that ordered the sacrifices in Kuru Eruna, the sacrifices that young Touzokuou Bakura witnessed and that really messed up his mind. Touzokuou, (which translates to "Thief King"), went on to think that Yami's father ordered the killings, (when he in fact had no idea they'd taken place), and he wanted to kill Yami too since he was the new pharaoh. He pretty much hated the entire royal family. So, that's the story behind that. I just like to tell the story. Syahahaha…

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: xD I can appreciate having no life…Well gosh, I'm sorry to have ruined your day, but I'm glad to know I managed to create an OC you rather liked. Even if he's dead…ah well. Worse things could happen. Maybe he'll show up in a different fic sometime.

You Know Us: Gomen, Michelle-chan, no lasers for you. I am glad you liked it! I'm always glad, of course. :niko: Yami's so smart! He's definitely the sort of guy you want on your side! Poor Louis-chan got killed…but Bakura's on it. If he doesn't go insane first. O.o Evil, EVIL F-CAT pretest! Sooooo glad it's over with. This means the writing can commence!

So, right, I don't think I have much else to clear up…last chapter put me over my 100 pages of reviews. I save the majority of my reviews in a file on my computer and I have over a 100 pages now. That's not really important though…Well, the good news is that there's a three-and-a-half-day weekend coming up at the end of this week, I CANNOT WAIT. :collapses: Thank kami-sama, I so need the break. Woot! And though I am severely upset over KidsWB not playing 173, (Why the hell do they always do this? WHY?), I have my resources. :snickers:It has been dubbed and shown in the UK already, (I believe it was the UK), and thanks to my good friend Nikki-chan, I was able to get hold of a download of it. :triumphant:It was awful quality, but at least I got to watch it. I don't like the dubber's choice of background music, but otherwise, it's a pretty cute ending scene. Joey's so...so...self-sacrificing for the people he loves. He'd such a charmer, I can'tfigure out how there could be anyone out there that _doesn't_ like him!No wonder Mai fell for him.

Anyhoo, catch ya on the flip side-


	12. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 12

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Twelve

The very next afternoon, in the hall, Bakura was confronted with the cheerful question of: "Guess who's your new get-away driver?"

He stared at the smirking face of Blair and groaned. "Oh no."

"Well, since your old one certainly can't drive you, and you have yourself a murder scheduled for tonight…" Blair swung the keys to the station wagon proudly around his finger. "I'm going to drive you."

"Great." Bakura muttered, wishing Blair was still conked out in bed. The sleeping powder had worn off surprisingly quickly.

"So you'd better meet me in the parking lot at 9:00 on the nose, got it?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Don't cop an attitude with me, unless you want to end up like your friend Louis."

"Don't cop an attitude with me, unless you want a personal interview with the barrel of my gun." Bakura spit back. "Louis this, Louis that, Louis the other thing, you keep lording it over me, and frankly, it's getting annoying! Constantly hissing his name doesn't make you more powerful, and it certainly doesn't scare me. He wasn't my friend. He was just someone to talk to, that didn't make him a friend by a long shot."

"Oh? Then why do you always look scared when I say his name? Maybe because you know that if you hadn't told him about that room and hadn't given him any ideas, he'd still be here…"

"That's a lie!" Bakura protested sharply. "Nothing I did or didn't do would have stopped him from getting in trouble, he was a stupid kid like that."

"That's a bit arrogant, calling him the 'kid' when you're only…what, a year or so older?"

Bakura scowled. _Try 5000 years. _He thought, but said nothing of it, and finally turned on his heel. "Fine, 9:00 downstairs tonight."

"Even a heartless person can't escape a guilty conscience. You can snip at me all you want, but I know that _you_ know you're responsible for killing your friend, just because you were trying to find a way out to save Yami. That's all you ever talk about…it's getting annoying. Do you think your precious Yami would really like to know that you killed a friend for him?"

"I didn't kill Louis and I told you, goddammit, THAT HE WASN'T MY FRIEND!" Bakura shouted, whirling around, fist up. Blair caught his arm in mid-swing and tossed him backwards a few steps. Bakura fell back against the wall, gripping his elbow, growling under his breath.

"9:00 tonight." Blair said, leaning above him. "The boss will be calling you to his office soon to give you the picture and the neighborhood information. Expect it."

Bakura had no reply. Blair turned and sauntered off down the hall. But even once he had vanished from sight and sound, Bakura didn't stand up. He just drew his knees up and looked down at the floor.

"I'm not heartless." He said quietly. The words echoed back ominously in the empty hallway, mocking him. He opened his palm, staring at the fingernail indentions that he'd gotten from gripping his fist too hard. "I'm not."

* * *

"Well, here we are." Blair stopped the car alongside the road. "Time to go do your job."

Bakura looked around, eyes widening. He knew this street. He knew this street and each and every apartment building and house on it.

"What the hell are we doing here?" he demanded, thinking it was a joke.

"Didn't the boss tell you? This is the street that the chick you're supposed to off lives on."

Bakura dug around in his pocket and pulled out the picture of the girl, flipping it over. He hadn't, to be honest, been paying much attention that afternoon when he'd been 'briefed'. It was always the same thing, all that changed was his target. On the back was the address of the person in the picture. Before this moment, he hadn't bothered to read it.

_Fifth street, Apartment building 1764, room 12A, forth floor._

"You're kidding." Bakura shook his head. Of all the freaking streets, it had to be the street that Yami lived on, didn't it! And as if that wasn't bad enough, Yami's apartment building was only three lots away.

"Nah, the boss doesn't joke around." Blair was delighted. "Now, time to set up a couple a ground rules. First of all, I'm going to run down to the liquor store while you're busy. I'm giving you exactly one hour. You'd better be in this spot or I'm going back home and you can walk the fifteen-odd miles back yourself. Second rule: You'd better not go visiting your boyfriend while you're here, no matter how tempting it might be."

"He's not my boyfriend." Bakura muttered.

Blair shrugged. "He could be a cross-dressing chick carrying your lovechild for all I care." He was very proud of his quip and paused for a moment to enjoy it. "Just don't go visiting him. You'll be sorry if anyone finds out."

"Gotcha." Bakura shrugged into the Uzi's strap, glad for the first time to be off on a murder. At least it meant he'd get an hour break from Blair's yap, and perhaps with a bit of luck, he would drink too much from the liquor store and would drive into a pole and die. Well, one could dream. Blair drove off into the night as Bakura began jogging toward his destination. The sooner he got this over with, the better.

By the time he'd located the building, the right window, and had fallen out of the tree he'd been forced to scale in order to see if the balcony opposite the room was empty, Bakura had concluded that things were only going from bad to worse.

_Absolutely nuts. The first two murders went off without a hitch. Real simple. One shot, boom, easy. Then the third one I got an unintentional victim and the damn police show up before my own get-away driver does. Now I'm hanging around the same street Yami lives on. And why did…Kristen…why did this 'Kristen' person have to get a forth-floor room? Why couldn't she be reasonable and get a house? Or a ground-floor room at the very least?_

Such thoughts were only a few of the rants circling inside his head as he clambered onto the forth-floor balcony across from Kristen's, and wiped the blood from a cut on his hand on his jeans.

_This couldn't get much worse._

He hunkered down and tried to get comfortable to wait, when a light inside the apartment behind him came on.

"Honey, I heard something outside."

"It's probably just a stray cat."

"On the forth floor!"

"Fine, fine, I'll go check it out."

_Arragg… _With a silent groan, Bakura vaulted himself off the balcony back into the overly flexible branches of the tree he'd climbed to get there in the first place, and clung to the trunk, level with the third floor, as the sliding door above opened and someone poked their head out for a moment, before pulling it back in and reporting loudly,

"Nothing's out there."

_Screw you! Screw you all! _Bakura thought reproachfully, and finally arranged himself on a branch. He hated shooting from trees, since the gun's recoil wasn't a fun thing to experience 24 feet above the ground, on a thin branch. But since waiting on the balcony was now out of the question, he needed a new way in, and finally he used the back stairs to get up to the roof of the six-story building, picking the lock on the door. Shooting from a rooftop was another thing he disliked. Nowhere to run. But what had to be done, had to be done. He got out the binoculars and prayed that Kristen would walk through her living room soon.

As if she'd heard him, she walked in at that moment.

"Thank you, whoever just did that." Bakura muttered, aiming.

The silencer prevented a noisy shot, but the shattering of a mirror behind Kristen got the attention of his light-sleeping friends of the balcony two stories below.

"I told you I heard something!" The sound of a sliding door opening. "It's the college girl in the building across from us, something's happened!"

"Don't panic, maybe she just dropped a plate or something."

"I can see her, she's lying on her floor, bleeding! She's been shot! The killer was on our balcony!"

"Honey, calm down, I'll call the police-"

_That's my cue. _Bakura returned to the staircase and took the steps three at a time. He figured he'd be able to make it out of the building before any police appeared, since they weren't the most efficient around. But just as he reached the ground floor, no less than six police cars came roaring up. _Perfect. The one time the police actually respond to a call without waiting an hour in this city, it has to be this time around._

Bakura pressed himself up against the staircase wall, and as soon as he figured no one was looking, took off at a dead run. Considering how badly everything _else_ that evening had gone, he wasn't surprised to reach the end of the street and see a police car blocking the way. Of course, a roadblock. Of all the damn things.

He spun around and, concealed behind a car, pondered his options. His watch said he still had a little over a half-hour to go before Blair would be anywhere nearby to give him a ride out. Provided he would even be able to sneak past the roadblock to get his ride back to the Compound at all. He knew soon police would start combing the neighborhood. Being caught outside with an Uzi wasn't going to look very good. He sighed. There was only one option.

* * *

Yami's evening had been, so far, completely ordinary. He'd taken an early shower, eaten dinner, watched the News, checked the lottery numbers, and sat down to work on his new jigsaw puzzle, this one claiming to be the most challenging one the company made. He heard sirens nearby outside, and was about to get up and see what was going on when someone knocked on his door. He set down the puzzle piece he was holding and walked to the door, curious. First sirens, now someone showing up at 9:30 at night…

He opened the door with his usual polite smile, and stared in surprise at the person standing there. It was Bakura.

Bakura bit his lip and raised his hand in a half-hearted wave, something dark concealed under his other arm. "Um…Yami…I need help."

Yami blinked.

Bakura's expression was starting to look frantic. "I need to come inside. Now."

Yami snapped out of his trance and moved to the side as Bakura dashed through the door and into the other room. He yanked the curtains on the front window closed, before returning to the hall. "Close the door!" he hissed. Yami, startled, closed the door as he requested. Bakura collapsed on the floor in a heap, kicking his shoes off; and Yami now realized what the dark object under his arm was. It was his Uzi.

"Bakura, what's going on?"

"Ah…" Bakura paused. He wasn't sure what to reply to that. "Anou…thanks for doing that research for me."

"It was no problem. But you didn't answer my question."

"Well, I was just in the neighborhood…"

Someone pounded on the door loudly at that moment, causing both of them to jump. Bakura shot to his feet. "Whoever that is, I'm not here!" he warned, snatching his boots and dashing for the nearest room, which turned out to be the bedroom.

Yami was thoroughly puzzled by this time. The person outside knocked again and shouted, "Police!" Yami opened the door to see two policemen standing outside.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Inside the bedroom, Bakura could hear Yami and the police outside talking. Mostly likely they were searching the neighborhood for the murderer. He felt rather subdued. What was he doing here? Now Yami was going to know what really happened. With a sigh, he sat down on the edge of Yami's bed and stared glumly at his reflection in a mirror. He never should have come, he knew it, Yami's apartment was probably the worst place for him to be now. A few months before, he would have been thrilled for the chance to hang out inside Yami's place. Now he found himself wishing he was anywhere-_anywhere_-else. When had things gotten so out of hand?

Well, if Yami wanted to sell him out right now, he could. But no one came crashing through the door to arrest him. Instead, he heard the former pharaoh calling good-bye, and good luck, and then the front door closing. Surprised, he got up and peered out of the room in time to see Yami turn toward him.

"They're gone?" he stopped suddenly, seeing Yami's expression.

"Did you kill that girl?" Yami asked.

Bakura felt his heart sink. "I-" He stopped again, staring into Yami's face. His purple eyes, so expressive when they wanted to be, were now narrowed in a disbelieving and questioning way. But what got to Bakura was neither of those. It was the disappointment buried deep within the orbs, and he found himself shouting,

"Stop looking at me like that! Stop it!"

Yami looked taken aback at this outburst, but it didn't distract him. "Bakura, I want to know what's going on."

"I can't tell you."

"You're in some type of trouble, aren't you?" Yami asked. "That's why you've been so secretive."

Bakura was silent, thinking: _Me! You're the one that's in trouble!_

Yami took a step forward. "If you need help, I'll help you, you know."

_I don't deserve any help._

Bakura flinched slightly as Yami's hand touched his shoulder. "Bakura, just tell me the truth. I promise I won't call the police back here to arrest you. Did you kill that girl or not? I want to know what's going on. Everything has been so confusing lately. You've gone missing and people are dying and there's this laser thing you made me research, and I'd just…Please, I just want the truth."

Bakura looked at him, unsure of what to do, and part of him wanted to tell Yami what was going on. Wanted to talk to him, wanted to explain. But he couldn't. And he knew he couldn't. Finally he brushed Yami's hand off his shoulder and said coolly, "No. I didn't kill her. And I don't like being accused of things without any proof. Isn't it possible I could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Anyone with a gun right now would be stupid not to run and hide, so I came here thinking you might understand. I guess I was wrong." He shook his head. "I shouldn't even be here…I was just coming by to say thank you for doing the research, and I don't even know why I'm doing that. Heartless jerks don't usually say thank you for things, do they? And now…you're standing there accusing me of being a murderer."

Yami blinked and frowned. Bakura's whole demeanor had suddenly changed. Defensively, he replied, "I don't think you're heartless. Yes, you've made a lot of mistakes, but that doesn't make you heartless. And I'm not accusing you of anything. If you say you didn't do it, then you didn't do it. I was only asking."

That was a considerably different answer than Bakura expected, and he closed his mouth, since his comeback he'd thought up wouldn't work now. In all truth, he was only feeling worse now. He'd made Yami angry at him…perfect. He must have looked upset, because Yami suddenly softened his voice and went on,

"I don't want to believe that you're killing people for sport. I don't want to believe it was you at all. But what I want to know is if you're in trouble, any kind of trouble, and if you need help getting out from under it. I'm your friend, and you're my friend whether you like the idea of it or not, and friends help each other out, and I _know _something is going on."

_I'm trying to help YOU by killing these people though…that's not so black and white, is it? And besides, I'm not a friend to anyone. I don't know how to be a friend._

"So all I'm saying is that if you need anything, I'll do the best I can. If you need help, or just someone to talk to, anything."

_I need a hell of a lot of things, and right now I need more than you could ever do…_

"Because you know that if something bad happened to you, I'd be upset. You do know that, right?"

_You should be more concerned about yourself for once in your-wait. Did he just say he cared about me?_

"I won't tell anyone you were here if you don't want me to. I get the feeling you've gotten caught up in something. But I'd really like it if you'd tell me yourself. I've been worried about you ever since you disappeared and then made me do that laser research."

_He did! He did just say he cared! _Despite himself, Bakura suddenly felt far more cheerful. _And he said it twice! Yami just told me he was worried about me! But…is that really a good thing right now though?_

"Bakura? Did you hear me?"

Bakura snapped to attention and straightened up. "I heard you. And…uh…thanks, I guess…you know, thanks for caring. And for trusting me." He secured the Uzi strap on his shoulder, tugged his boots back on, and glanced at his watch. Ten minutes left. Would the roadblock be gone? "But I can't tell you anything."

"I have a feeling it's not that you _can't _tell me, it's that you _won't _you tell me. But you must have your reasons."

"Very good reasons." Bakura nodded and glanced at his watch with worry. Blair was going to be such a pain tonight on the ride back to the Compound if he found out that he'd been visiting Yami. He might even tell the boss. That reminded him and he took a deep breath.

"Yami, there is one thing I need to tell you."

"What?"

"You're in danger here. You need to leave Domino. I can't explain why, but…your life is in danger."

Yami looked confused. "Why would I be in danger?"

"I…can't tell you that. But you are, I know it for a fact. Just trust me, will you? You said that friends trust friends, didn't you?"

Yami suddenly looked triumphant. "Ah, so you do consider me a friend."

Bakura paused and made a mental note to forever banish the word 'friend' from his vocabulary. The word was just causing more and more problems. Had Louis been a friend? Was Yami a friend? Would Yami still be a friend if he ever got the whole story? Friendship was, he decided, a lot of trouble.

"Okay, Bakura. I'll see what I can do about leaving." Yami finally answered.

"This isn't a joke. I mean it. But you do whatever you want, ain't my problem if you won't listen. So…do you think those police are gone? I don't want to be caught running around with an Uzi after a murder."

Yami pointed over his shoulder. "I'll tell you a secret. If you go behind this building, there's a section of the fence that you could probably get under. The house in the yard is abandoned, a fire burned half of it down last year, and the street leads back out to the main road. You could probably bypass the roadblock if you're sneaky."

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you so that the police don't find you and your beloved gun."

"But why? I know you still think I'm the person behind those murders, and you're just saying you trust me in order to guilt trip me or something." He raised his eyebrow and eyed Yami suspiciously. "You don't like me, so why are you being so friendly and easy-going with me tonight, after all that?"

"Who told you I didn't like you?"

"You did." Bakura raised his other eyebrow. "You always hated me. And I've got a long list of reasons why."

"People change." Yami said, opening the door. "You've changed, I've changed. And one day I think I'll get the whole story behind these murders. I told you Bakura, like it or not, you're a friend of mine. I don't want to believe that you killed them, and if you say you didn't, then you didn't." he paused and added, "Until then, be careful, okay? Because I meant what I said, I'd be really upset if you got hurt."

"Yami…" Bakura stood in the doorway, knowing he was wasting time, but he felt obliged to say something in return. No, it wasn't that…he _wanted _to say something in return. But what was he supposed to say? He could feel sort of pressure rising in his chest, and didn't know what it meant. "Yami, I…oh, forget it." He took off at a run into the night.

Yami stood there for a long time, knowing that he could always call the police now. But something stopped him, and for some reason, he didn't feel angry at the white-haired thief. He couldn't make himself turn Bakura in; even though he wasn't entirely sure Bakura had been telling the truth. He went back to his jigsaw puzzle instead, and found himself hoping that Bakura would make it back okay, to wherever he was going.

* * *

Bakura did, in fact, make it to the street with a few minutes to spare. He hid in a shadowy corner till Blair pulled up and parked crookedly on the sidewalk, fairly drunk, announcing loudly that Bakura would drive him home. Bakura sighed, but took the keys and got in.

The evening had been quite an adventure. Going from bad to worse to not so bad, then to a small moment of a new emotion, a lightweight happiness when he'd heard Yami really was concerned for him. Now that he was back to reality, going back to his days of lolling around the Compound in a mix of boredom and anxiety, the last thirty minutes were going to be an important memory to hang on to. The first memory he ever really wanted to cherish. It was something he wasn't used to, but found that he liked. The only problem was that his guilt was coming back. Yami really trusted him…and he'd lied again. _It's for the best. _Bakura told himself firmly._ I can't tell him the truth. Not right now._

And there was still one other major detail that loomed overhead, the other thing that darkened his outlook. That had been the forth murder, the forth and final person in the pictures he'd been shown. So what was going to happen now?

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Ahh! I have bounced back! There's something about this chapter that I really like. I can't put my finger on it, but I just like this chapter. Guess I won't question it. :niko:

So, I figured that to show some more of Bakura's feelings, no better way to do so than to have him and Yami meet again. Did you all like the meeting? All in all, this chapter was enjoyable to write. I hope it's just as good to read! It's got some refreshingly light points to it. It's nice to see a simple conversation between Bakura and Yami finally. So, Yami's covering for a killer that is also a person he once hated…yeah, we all know what THAT means. Why is he trusting Bakura's word that was an obvious lie? Well…you can take your guesses. Bakura and Yami make such a good couple! I can't understand why so many people don't understand the pairing. I mean, besides me and a handful of others, there's very few Bakura-Yami supporters, and most of them are all like, "sadistic hentai bonanza!", when they write their fics. Seriously! They are, it's ridiculous! I mean c'mon, I'm sure Bakura and Yami MUST have better things to do than lay around having sex in EVERY SINGLE BLEEPING CHAPTER. It's like, Yami's hungry and decides to make lunch.That means go have sex! Bakura decidesto buy a new car. Have sex in theback of it! It's so...freakin'...ridiculous.Hentai pisses me off if it's done so crudely like that. Ah, gomen…I was on my soapbox again, wasn't I?

Right, well, getting back on topic…the length of this chapter means that next chapter will be short. It'll be important, I assure you, but short. But importantly short! (And, though it pains me to burst you all's bubbles, there will be NO sadomasochistic sex, bondage, or pleasure slavery in it. Sorry.)

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: Whaaaaa, Hershey hates me... :runs off to hide in the corner: I'm just kidding. It's okay. I know how it is to be tired. I hope you're feeling better today. :pats:

You Know Us: Oh dear, what evil have I unleashed into the world…well, I gave you fair warning! Now now, if I told you the circumstances of the picture, it would totally spoil one of my favorite aspects and scenes of the fic. But, of course, Michelle-chan doesn't have a crush. Of _course_. Yeah. :blinks: Hehehe. I shalt tell nothing! You must just wait and see what will come. I just hope Michelle-chan will not give you a headache. Maybe this chapter will cheer her up. Next chapter will make her upset again, so I do hope she can give you at least one week of relaxation.

AngelicTransmition (a.t): Hi! Welcome to the reviewing community of TPoaH. :niko: Aw, thank you! I feel so special now. :eyes tear up: Fantasy and magic is cool, I'm terrible at writing it though. xD I won't tell anyone your age, I promise. Don't feel bad, when I first was writing shounen-ai, it was mad awkward. It gets easier. Yes indeed, reviews rule! O.o Expire? That doesn't sound very good. I hope your internet is okay!

I'm in a good mood. I got manga today. MANGA! SQUEEEE:launches into a series of odd dance moves: This is what happens when I get manga, I get all cheerful and stuff. Plus, no school today! Yaaay!Anyhoo, next chapter will be short, like I said, but it's coming up to a climax. I mean, sort of the climax before a climax because this fic is going to get a little crazy near the end…but still, there's gonna be a cliffie next chapter. It's gonna be fun. :smile:

See you next week!


	13. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 13

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Thirteen

Around fifteen years ago, the American military set up a special base in the desert of Nevada, warned everyone that the area was a dangerous radioactive nuclear-waste dump, and began developing a secret high-power weapon. The problem was that it was completely experimental, and no one knew if their idea would even work when it was completed, so news of the plan was never leaked out, and the people of the US innocently paid up their taxes each year without a clue where some of that money was going.

The weaponry, a high-power laser that was attached to a satellite and capable of targeting either a large or minute area of land at once, was being developed mostly for the purposes of defense. Or revenge if some other country attacked, depending on one's point of view. No one expected its uses to be needed anytime soon. At the least, they certainly hoped not. But the work ground to a halt several years into it when the experimental outline of the machine and accompanying satellite disappeared. And then, of all things, somehow a tabloid was tipped off about the base. The plans resurfaced inside the base a week later, but no one could ever figure out where they, (and the computer program they'd been made on), had been while missing. Fearing the worst, the military disassembled the team of engineers and the base, and destroyed all the outlines and programs for the ill-fated laser.

But the truth was that not all the copies were destroyed. One still existed, having been secretly stolen and reproduced by a Japanese-American man that had recently come to work there. And that copy now resided in the computer system of the Compound.

* * *

"How are things coming along?" The boss peered over the shoulder of the young man at the computer.

"Good." He answered. "Final preparations are almost done. We've been fine-tuning the aiming mechanism. It was 4 degrees off. We've been testing it in a remote mountain area."

"And how is it right now?"

"Working on it."

"So it'll be done fairly soon, then?"

The young engineer glanced at his watch. It was close to midnight. "I'd say it'll be done tomorrow evening, and will be ready to fire. The satellite was launched months ago, the public and the people who launched it are under the impression it's a TV satellite."

"People are so gullible."

The door to the basement room opened with a swoosh of air, and Blair stomped in with his usual manner.

"Ah, Blair, how did everything go?"

"I don't trust Bakura. I think he visited his Yami boyfriend or girlfriend or whoever the hell it is."

The boss narrowed his eyes. "I wanted an update on his accomplishments, not on your paranoid theories."

"He says the chick is dead. So does the guy on the News. But really, sir, I _know _he was visiting-"

"Be quiet, I'll deal with Bakura's possible misdeeds later. Just as long as everything is done, because this project is almost complete." The older man had a proud look in his eyes, almost a thrilled parent-like expression as he gazed at the dozen or so people that were working diligently. "It was not easy to steal those plans…and it took so long to make headway, I've lost the engineering prowess I had. But these young people all seem to know what they're doing. Isn't it amazing? Finally my dream is a reality. I've waited a long time for this."

"Yeah, so long that you had to resort to hiring your own assassin for entertainment." Blair muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"You can say whatever you want about me." The boss said, arms folded. "I'm aware of what everyone says."

"Then you know that almost everyone in this place thinks you're nuts?"

"Yes."

"Oh, okay. And you know that I'm not one of them, right? I'm your bodyguard, and I'm a loyal follower. You don't need to threaten or pay me off to work for you."

"Because you have a personal interest in this project, don't you?"

"Yep. And I like being a bodyguard. I'm good at it." He said proudly. "Right?"

"Indeed. Well, it's nice to know someone here wouldn't run at their first chance. But then again, I can't blame them. They don't know what I've been through, and I respect that. If only they could understand."

"They don't. And neither does that assassin you hired." Blair pressed the subject. "He _smiled _on the way home tonight. He stopped himself really fast, but I saw it. I think he went and visited-"

"Yes, so you've told me." The boss turned toward the door. "I've got to go pay a visit to Bakura anyway, I have some mail to deliver to him. You should get some rest Blair, and work that alcohol I smell out of your system. I need you to do something for me tomorrow afternoon, and you need to be sober. I think you'll like it."

"What's that?" Blair asked curiously.

The boss smiled brightly and clapped his hands together. "You've got to go pay Bakura's friend Yami a visit."

* * *

Bakura was surprised to hear someone knocking on his door at midnight. He was awake as it was anyway, cleaning his Uzi, but nonetheless, the visitor was unexpected.

"Bakura."

"Boss-master-one-or-the-other." Bakura greeted with an overly-cheerful smile. "Isn't that the name you asked me to use for you the first day we met?"

The boss smiled back. "If that's the name you want to call me by, so be it. But I'd really suggest that you watch your tone, since I've brought you your mail right to your door." He set down a box on the dresser. "Two Tonfa Blasters, complete with ten rounds each and a leather holster belt. Very upgradeable."

Bakura got to his feet to retrieve them. "Cool, they finally came."

"You're awfully cheerful tonight, Bakura."

"Well, tonight was the last murder." Bakura lied. "Hard to compete with that. Care to tell me what's coming next?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Oh, a surprise, huh?"

"You could say that, yes."

"Hmmn. I really don't like surprises, but if you insist." Bakura was busy examining his new weapons, not paying much attention.

"You enjoy yourself." The boss said, closing the door behind him. Bakura glanced up and sighed. He was glad he could use the last-murder excuse for his good mood. But still, knowing that right this moment, Yami was hopefully getting out or preparing to get out of Domino, and accompanied by the fact that Yami had said, specifically, that he'd be upset if something bad happened to Bakura; put him in an extremely good mood. For once, things seemed to be looking up. The past months had been sort of an alternate-reality nightmare that wouldn't end. But now…finally, there was the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe his luck was changing at last.

He clipped the belt that held his new Blasters around his waist and admired it in the mirror. Yes indeed, it wouldn't be long before he could get his revenge for everything that had happened. Revenge for his kidnapping, for their threats they made against Yami, for killing Louis, for messing up his life…

He was blissfully unaware of what was going on downstairs.

* * *

By a complete fluke, Bakura chose to wear his new Tonfa Blasters the next day. Mostly because he liked the belt. It was leather, and could be worn in a variety of ways. But he was also pretty proud of the guns. They could certainly never take the place of his beloved sub-machine gun, but they were likable enough. After losing his magic, he'd turned his attention to collecting other types of weapons. Daggers were a favorite because they were much more personal, but firearms were second in line. Tonfa Blasters, a fairly new idea, were handheld and-as of yet-not illegal to carry around. They also made a decent fashion statement. He liked them.

That afternoon, near five o'clock, the sun was dropping low enough to bathe the Compound in shadows from the forest around it. The boss appeared again at Bakura's door with an oddly serene look on his face.

"Bakura, would you come with me, please?"

Bakura frowned but complied, and followed him downstairs. In the parking area, the boss began walking toward the 'back yard' of the Compound, for lack of a better name. It was a small empty area of grass, fenced in and generally useless. A few old cars were dumped back there, and not much else. Before reaching the yard, the boss stopped and turned toward Bakura.

"You certainly puzzle me."

"Ne?"

"But I applaud all your trying. I'm really not sure if you're just very arrogant or oddly ignorant. Perhaps both."

Bakura scowled suspiciously. This speech was familiar. Too familiar. He decided to cut to the chase before it could go further. "Look, did you come down here to psychoanalyze me, or is there another reason?"

"I don't like traitors." The boss frowned, his serenity gone. "Sneaking into the basement-twice, in fact. Violating my privacy by breaking into my computer and using up my printer paper. Attempting to find a way to blackmail me. And it doesn't stop there. Your self-concern is sickening. Misleading Louis and subsequently causing his death in order to eavesdrop for information here. Borrowing Blair's computer to go online and research the laser for yourself. Even using Yami, the person you claim to love, to look up the plans you stole from my computer. Is there anyone that you _won't _betray for your own gain?"

Bakura grit his teeth. Somehow, the man had obviously been keeping a closer eye on him than he'd first thought. He knew about everything. Which meant that all his secrets were worth zip. And, oddly enough, when the boss put it in those terms, Bakura was almost-_almost_-ashamed of himself. In order to fight the emotions off, he muttered,

"So, since I know about everything and you know about everything, care to explain the laser to me?"

"No, I think you've got some other things you need to tend to first." The boss said, turning back toward the yard and motioning. "If the scene before you doesn't garner your full concentration, I'll gladly explain the laser to you, as I'm fairly proud of it, but I'm pretty sure once you see it, the laser will be the furthest thing on your mind. Which is good, I need to keep your mind off it while it's being prepped for tonight."

Bakura took a few steps forward to see what he was pointing toward, and walked off the pavement into the grass. Right away two things caught his attention. The first, whom he only concentrated on for a moment, was Blair. He was standing there with his usual arrogance, arms folded across the trademark muscle shirt. Bakura's eyes then lowered to the ground and he felt his breath catch someplace inside his lungs. The boss had been right. All thoughts of the laser, the Compound, and everything else instantly vanished from his mind. His vision blurred and it was a moment before he could even focus.

It was Yami, lying motionless on his side on the ground with his back to Bakura, a few feet away from Blair's steel-clad boots. The way he lay there made it impossible to tell what had happened to him, if he'd been shot or stabbed or something else, even if he were dead or alive. It looked as though someone had simply thrown him there, splayed as he was.

"Hello, Uzi-boy." Blair took a step forward, standing between Bakura and Yami's prone body. "Just think. It's been a good couple months or so since you came to live here and never _once_ would you listen to what I had to say. It's been irritating, to tell the truth. But now," He prodded Yami's shoulder with his toe, "I think I've got the one thing that will get your attention."

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

About the military thing: I realize that the American military might not allow someone of Japanese heritage, especially of the Boss's heritage, (you'll find out about it later on), in on a top-secret project, but whoever said that the records they got on the guy were the right records, right? I mean, anything can be covered up if you know the right people and the right things to say and do. (I live in FL, I know this firsthand. Our state's history is all about covering things up.) Therefore, I grant that it's probably possible for the guy to have worked for the military while they didn't know his entire background. He looks like an American, after all. Anyhoo, I feel I should explain this, lest nit-pickers get…picky. That was poorly worded, wasn't it? Ah well. xD

Due to the shortness of this, I put a lot of effort into the final scene, in hopes that the cliffhanger will give you something to think about besides my other writing…or lack thereof. No word yet if Yami is dead or alive or someplace in-between, (I know I'm gonna catch hell from someone for that…:pokes at Michelle-chan: Just when I was starting to get on her good side! What was I thinking…), there's a laser that's not far away from being fired, (but who knows where that laser is going to be fired at, and why), and to top it all off, Bakura is now in a moment of shock. Oh boy, I just can't cut these guys a break. But then again, getting breaks is not what charrahs in fics like these do. They get hell instead. Such fun!

Well, as I said, this chapter was…short. Very short. A little over three and a half pages. That's like…insanely short. I'm such a lazy bum. Well, at least it was decent, I mean, I could have made it longer with a lot of boring fluff but that's just…boring. Whateva. I'll make up for it in the ensuing chapters, I promise! Spring Break next week. Woot! Lots of time to write.

Replies:

Hershey-Kiss: Oh…well, I can understand stress, and I'm flattered that you still make time to read this bunch of…insanity. :peruses her writing: Well, anyway, it's nice to know you're so loyal. :smile smile: As for the tree issue…you make a good point. Yeah, you caught me on that one, you really did. For lack of good excuse, let's say that Bakura is Bakura, and the guy isn't exactly your normal person…it's entirely possible he's been sitting around in trees sniping at cars. (Heck, there's this guy on a pocket-rocket that I'd _love_ to shoot off his bike one day…he keeps riding past while I'm trying to watch TV. If I had the weaponry, I would so sit in a tree and wait.) I'm glad you liked it, if you're going to take your valuable time to read this, I'd like to at least make it enjoyable for you. As for that happy ending…you'll just have to wait and see.

You Know Us: I'm not sure I dare try to make peaceful contact with you, seeing as what I've likely done to Michelle-chan. Now don't be getting defensive either Michelle, I had this planned out, I did NOT toss that ending in just to annoy you, I promise. And besides…you don't _have_ a crush, right?) But, one must try…I'm very glad you liked the last chapter. :smile smile: It was cute, cuteness is always fun. And I'm also glad you noted the scene with Bakura saying he never cared about Louis. I worked real hard on that scene! Now, I hope Michelle doesn't kill me. Or you. Or anyone else for that matter that doesn't deserve to be killed. (:wicked grin: Though I could direct you to a few people at my school…:slaps herself: Bad self! Bad!)

Oh! I nearly forgot…everyone, my Bakura-Yami Darkshipping AMV is completed, uploaded, and posted at animemusicvideos (dot) org.If you have the time and the harddrive space, please _please_ go download it! It's very cute, and I'm proud of it seeing how hard it is to find canon clips of their relationship. (Mad difficult…) Anyhoo, what you do is go to that site, and on the home page, you'll see a search box. Type "Cruel to Be Kind- A darkshipping tribute" into that, and download the video that has the author's name of "Yami no Geemu". That'll be mine. (It ought to be the first search result.) It's not a very large file, so even dial-uppers should be able to get hold of it well enough. You'll like it, I worked real hard on it.

Much love ya'll! Later-


	14. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 14

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Fourteen

"What's this?" Blair stopped his forward advance and tilted his head to the side. "No 'hello', no 'how are you'? Not even a smile for your boyfriend? That's bad form, Bakura."

Earlier that day, after kidnapping Yami for the boss, he'd loaded himself up on some new steroids, a painkiller or five, and a few beers. In his mind, the steroids would keep him from getting hurt during a fight, (which he anticipated, given Bakura's temper), and the painkillers and beer would keep him from feeling any pain if the kid tried to use that nerve trick on him again. He was feeling like a million bucks at the moment, on top of the world in fact. No more secretary work for the boss, no, this was _real _work. This was what he was born to do, he thought. And despite a bit of blurry sight, he felt invincible and at the top of form. Bakura would be helpless.

The sound of Blair's voice broke Bakura's momentary trance and he darted to Yami's side, rolling him onto his back, expecting the worst. But it was strange, he saw no sign of injury. There was no blood, no bullet or knife wounds, no raspy breathing or bruises indicating that he'd been choked. His skin seemed paler than usual, but it wasn't unnatural. The only thing Bakura noticed were a few bruises on his face, as if he'd been slugged a few times. But they didn't look serious enough to have come from punches that would knock someone out for long. His eyes were closed and at first glance it looked as though he were merely asleep. "Yami?" He asked, slapping him lightly. "Yami, wake up." When that got no response, he tried slapping him harder and yelling, "Yami! This isn't funny, get up!"

He still got no reply from the former pharaoh, and so he picked him up by the front of his shirt and shook his limp body like a doll, shouting at his closed eyes.

Blair watched, amused.

Finally Bakura dropped Yami back to the ground and attempted to locate a pulse, but was too impatient to remember which part of the wrist it was; so he placed his ear over Yami's heart and waited.

And waited for what seemed like an oddly long time. Surely it was only seconds but it seemed like minutes, and he could feel a cold steely sensation starting to grip his body as he finally considered that…maybe whatever had happened had already taken Yami's life…maybe it was too late.

Suddenly, he heard a heartbeat, and then another. It was a steady sound, but unnatural. There was too much time in-between beats, it was irregular. It was as if he were in a coma or something.

Getting to his feet, he turned his darkening eyes toward Blair. His voice, too, had frozen over in anger and it resembled more the snarl of a feral animal rather than human as he shouted, "_You bastard!_ What did you do to him?"

Blair smiled. "Poison, Bakura."

Bakura narrowed his eyes, one hand reaching behind him to feel the handle of one of the Tonfa Blasters. Blair continued, as if he'd memorized the information: "Fairly common really, as far as poisons go. It slows down a person's body, and they tend to have a few convulsions and then they fall into a coma. And after that, depending on how strong they are, they die after anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour. Whenever their heart stops from the stress." He checked his watch. "Forty-five minutes is the average time period. He just finally went into the coma not long ago. I estimate a half-hour left before he's dead. But really Bakura, you ought to be glad you're here now, I doubt you would have enjoyed seeing him jerking the way he was. Though, I must say, the convulsions were _really_ funny, his eyes rolled back and everything. Just like on TV!"

"You goddamn son of a bitch…!" Bakura heard his voice before he was even conscious of speaking. He pulled out the weapons from their holsters and held them out at arms length.

"Now Bakura, cussing at me isn't going to do you any good. If I were you, I'd suggest spending the time that you have left with Yami."

"Tell me you have an antidote." Bakura shouted.

"You think I'd hand it over to you? Geez, you ARE dense."

"Give me the antipoison!" Bakura demanded. "NOW!"

"What did I just say? I told you that _if_ I did have an antidote for him, I wouldn't give it to you. It wasn't easy poisoning him, the guy was like a cat, all teeth and nails when I tried to knock him out." Blair shook his head in disgust. "I should have guessed you'd have a stubborn boyfriend."

"You mean…there isn't one?" Bakura suddenly felt lightheaded and the use of the word 'boyfriend', went by unnoticed.

"Now you're catching on."

"No, you're lying. There must be one. If the boss gave you that poison, he would have given you an antidote. That's how he works."

"Oh, would you just shut up?" A buzzing had started in Blair's ears and a headache would certainly follow. Bakura's voice was starting to sound grating. Maybe he shouldn't have taken the second handful ofpills."Give up the tough-guy routine Uzi-boy. I didn't kidnap and poison your friend just so that you could yell at me. I did it so that I could keep you busy. Now really, he's only got a half-hour left. He's dying Bakura, in case you haven't figured that out. Are you going to sit and argue with me, or are you going to enjoy the time you two have left?"

"Neither, I'm going to send you to hell!" Bakura fired, and in his anger, hadn't noticed that Blair had moved to the side.

"Not in that condition you won't. You're letting anger control you."

"I didn't ask your opinion!" Bakura shouted, firing twice more before he could stop himself and tried to realize that this was a situation that firing a gun wouldn't fix. Blair's words echoed in his brain and he felt hatred flood through him. Yami was dying, he had to do _something._ So he shifted one Blaster to his other hand and began running forward toward Blair, fist out. He hardly comprehended the foolishness of this, all he could concentrate on was inflicting damage to his opponent, it didn't matter how, it didn't matter where, all that he cared about was hurting the man as terribly as he could…

Blair met his punch head-on, not feeling a thing. Cheerfully, he grabbed Bakura's arm and used his momentum to throw the assassin across the field. Bakura landed on his back, his breath knocked out of him, as he struggled to his knees, gasping for oxygen.

"Nice try!" Blair offered, laughing. Bakura turned and tried firing again. The distance made it hard to aim. These weren't long-distance weapons. He wished he had his Uzi. Even painkillers wouldn't be able to stop it. Blair began his own forward run, and Bakura fired again. This time he sensed a degree of success, Blair's left elbow suddenly began dripping blood. Blair didn't even flinch at the hit, simply glanced down at his bleeding arm and smiled. Bakura was momentarily diverted by confusion, when Blair punched him hard in the chest, a blow that would usually knock people out. Bakura went back to his knees, dropping the Tonfa Blasters and desperately trying to get a breath.

"Geez Bakura, this is pathetic. At this rate, Yami'll be dead before I'm hardly nicked." Blair examined his bloody elbow. "This is nothing." He kicked one of the Tonfa Blasters out of Bakura's reach and lifted him by the back of his shirt. "Next time, Uzi-boy, bring a bigger gun!"

Bakura clutched at the one Blaster he had left, holding it closely. There were five rounds left in it, he was pretty sure, and with only one now in reach, those rounds would have to count for something. He wasn't sure how much time had passed either. Had it been a half-hour yet? How much time did Yami have left? He didn't know. Blair drop-kicked him as though he were a grade-schooler's lunch bag, and that didn't do much to help his thinking. It felt as though at least three of his ribs had been broken by that one kick, considering the body-builder's steel-toed boots. Finally he hit upon one final plan.

Blair kicked him again, a few more feet. Bakura didn't move. Blair eyed him suspiciously.

"You still alive there? I didn't puncture any vital organs, did I? I wanted your life to last long enough for Yami to die first. I was hoping to watch that whole 'anguished-lover' thing."

Bakura didn't reply, just remained curled on the ground, unmoving. Blair poked him with his boot. "Are you unconscious?"

Still no reply.

"I bet you're playing possum. How about if I kick Yami a few times, any objections?"

There was still nothing in the way of a response, so Blair decided he'd probably either knocked-out or killed the assassin. Too bad, he'd really been looking forward to watching Bakura cry over his dying Yami. Naturally, the assassin had to go out the boring way. He shrugged and leaned over Bakura.

"Hey, don't worry, pretty soon Yami will join you."

Wordlessly, Bakura rolled over, the single Tonfa Blaster he had left inches from Blair's face. He fired all remaining rounds, and instantly Blair's face vanished in an explosion of crimson and small fragments of bone. His body was lifted into the air by the force of the gunshots. Blood splashed down like a sticky crimson rain, coating everything around.

With a heaved gasp, Bakura collapsed onto his back, sprawled on the grass, which was pleasantly comfortable and cool against his skin. "Yes. I DO have an objection to you kicking Yami." He finally said aloud, pulling himself to his feet and slipping the Tonfa Blaster into its holster. Gripping his ribcage, he limped to Blair's body and began rummaging through his pockets. "Ah…" he pulled out a small plastic vial and shook it, hearing liquid slosh inside. It was unmarked, but he pocketed it anyway. It might be the antipoison. Resuming the search he found nothing else, and so instead made his way over to Yami's side, retrieving the other blaster on his way.

"Yami? You still with me?" he asked tiredly, dropping to his knees and scooping Yami's limp body up in his arms. "Hang on for just a little bit longer." He said, walking as quickly as his battered body would allow him toward the parking lot, his eyes trained on the person he was carrying, and he noticed that Yami didn't feel as heavy as one might have expected. And looking closer, he looked thinner than Bakura last remembered. He had no way of knowing that Yami's semi-emaciated appearance was because the pharaoh hadn't been taking the best care of himself ever since Bakura had vanished. He'd found it increasingly difficult to sleep and eat regularly, and had thus lost weight and health.

He also noticed that Yami looked very peaceful, the expression on his face was unclouded and Bakura wondered if he knew what was happening around him. Did he know he was dying, or was he dreaming in his poison-induced slumber, his mind fooled into thinking this was sleep? His closed eyes revealed long eyelashes that were thin and feathered, and his bangs bounced very gently with each labored step that Bakura took. Everything about his unconscious form screamed 'innocence', and Bakura found himself growing still more angry at Blair and the boss and at himself too. Yami had nothing to do with the operation, he'd just been a bystander, a completely clueless bystander. How could they have done this to him? And at the same time…Bakura knew Yami wouldn't be in this situation if he hadn't dragged him into the mess in the first place.

Once at the car, Bakura used the end of one of the Tonfa Blasters to break the window of the station wagon, and unlocked the doors. Carefully he set Yami in the back seat, and retrieved the screwdriver from the glove compartment. Ignoring his pain the best he could, he started the cumbersome manner of hot-wiring the car, thinking: _I never thought I'd need this information. I guess Lou had a point to all that stuff…_

Finally the car sputtered to life and he navigated it out of the Compound, down the dirt road toward Domino. He knew there was a poison-control center there, that was the only place he could think of that might help. Yami was incapable of swallowing the antidote, provided that the liquid in the plastic bottle _was_ the antidote, he needed an IV. And Bakura didn't feel like taking him to the hospital. He hated hospitals, and he knew one of the doctors at the poison-control center as an acquaintance. He hoped that he would be there tonight, and wouldn't ask questions, about either the poisoning or the blood that coated Bakura's front. He glanced in the rearview mirror. _I swear I'm going to get you help. Just hold on Yami, please._

* * *

Back at the Compound, the boss was waiting for the final announcement. He tapped his foot impatiently. Finally the young engineer stood up, bowed, and announced,

"It's ready."

There was an impromptu scattered clapping in the basement. The boss clapped along with them.

"You should be incredibly proud." He said to the group. "Not even the American military could finish the project, and you did. I can't express how much this means to me."

There was another scattered murmuring of "you're welcome's" and bowing.

"Now, how did you set this up?" He asking peering at the main computer.

"The program is a simple one. It's set up so that you punch in coordinates, and the laser will target those only. You can designate miles, or down to a square foot. It could have been improved and made smaller…but we were running short on time. It's very accurate."

"So I just type in coordinates and then…?"

"The spot will be incinerated." The young man said, shrugging. "That's basically what a laser does. Just like any other. The beam's size can be adjusted. Right now it's on a half-mile damage scale. Whichever coordinates you choose, everything within a half-mile will suffer effects, though obviously the further from the middle, the less devastating."

"Works for me. Well then, start typing in coordinates! Very soon, America will be in the process of obliteration."

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well. Well well well. :pauses: YAY! I got to kill Blair! A truly enjoyable scene to write.Now there was a highlight to be lived. I love to kill off the bad guys, it's so demn _satisfying! _It's my reward for making and putting up with the annoying character, I suppose. It's also wishful thinking toward the bad guys in _this_ world. Better be a good person, or a crazy, pissed-off, reincarnated evil spirit might blow your face off with Tonfa Blasters. Hey, it could happen.

Well, celebrations aside, there's still a lot more to go with this. One bad guy down, one more to go, a laser presently aimed at America, and there's still Yami's fate to consider. Bakura of course would rather see the whole world get destroyed before he'd let Yami die, so naturally the laser is the last thing on his preoccupied mind. The poor guy. He's had to go through so much. He needs a hug! Okay, I'm acting all weird and hug-attack-y again. But seriously, he does need one. After he's not in pain anymore, that is, cause getting hugged with broken ribs…owch. And poor Yami is here, dying of poison, clueless about what it is he's been dragged into, and unconscious now for all of it! Neither of those guys can seem to catch a break. I'm somewhat surprised that Takahashi-sama doesn't come along and sue me for always putting his charrahs through hell. But then he'd have to sue ALL the Yugioh fanwriters, 'cause I know I'm not the only one! We could all be in court together…how fun!

Oh, and BTW, if any of you happened to see the fanart I did for this fic, (I know the link on my user page ended up being broken somehow…sorry 'bout that.), this chapter was the chapter that it was for. Just thought I'd clear that up.

Replies:

Hershey-Kiss: Ah, sleep. Sleep is good. :nod:

Mariko: Welcome to the reviewing crowd of TPoaH! xD Weird is my middle name when it comes to Yugioh romances. But it's a lot of fun just the same. :smile: Glad to hear you enjoying it!

You Know Us: Your reviews never fail to amuse me. It's very nice to see two people taking such an interest in the fic. Though, the idea of Michelle coming after me is rather…alarming…uh, Michelle-chan, I hope you realize that if you kill me, I'd never have a chance to finish the fic and you'll never find out what happens to Yami. Just keep that in mind before you come up with an assassination plan. O.o Ne, Blair's a jerk. He's a dead jerk now. Syahaha! We are all happy about this, for idiots like him that're so sadistic deserve death. AH HA! Awright, once someone starts claiming the person in question to be "their Yami", (oh, and BTW, he's MYYami-chan, but we can share. :smile:),you can't convince me it's not a crush. Teeheehee. How adorable…:niko:

Now. It's Spring Break! Weeeee:parties madly: I just LOVE Spring Break! It rules! I'm gonna make AMVs and go to the mall and do a small bit of work to make some money and write a lot and work on anentry for a short-story contest, and work on the fanart for theAnzu fanart contest the fansite I'm a member of is hosting and...ah, all kinds of fun stuffs.Hey, this means I might be able to get chapter 15 up a day or two early, ne?

Syahahaha…see all you guys around. :smile smile:


	15. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 15

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Fifteen

Bakura made quite a spectacle of himself, coming into the poison-control center. He was covered in blood, carrying Yami, and tripped on the doorstep on the way in, cursing loud enough in both pain and irritation to be heard throughout the building. Some workers, he supposed they were nurses, were convinced he was the one that had come for help and tried to tell him that the hospital would be a better place to go, before he pointed at Yami and they got the idea. Balancing himself against the wall, still holding tight to his friend's body, he demanded to know if Jared Fletcher was there. One nurse nodded.

"Yes, he stayed late tonight, what a coincidence-"

"Well, get him in here!" She looked startled, but called him into the room anyway.

"Bakura!" Jared and Bakura were more or less friends, since Bakura had one time stopped some guys at the shooting range from beating Jared, (who, much like Yami, was vertically challenged), into a pulp during an argument over who had the most custom work on their pistols. Jared had been extremely grateful and reminded him that he'd repay the favor at any time. He hadn't known that the only reason Bakura had bothered to help was because he had a severe dislike of one of the attackers, and that it actually had nothing to do with compassion, but Bakura had let it slide-favors could be hard to come by. He'd since completely forgotten the incident, till tonight anyway.

"Jar, I need some help."

Jared furrowed his brow. "What kind?"

"Yami, he's been poisoned. It's some weird stuff, it slows down his whole body till he's dead. I can't say what circumstances it was under, but he's in a coma and his heart's beating all funny, and I don't think there's much time-"

"Forget it, here, bring him in this room." Jared motioned toward the nearest door and Bakura laid Yami down, his arms aching. He reached into his pocket and produced the vial.

"I think this might be the antipoison, but I don't know for sure. It might just be more of the stuff. I don't have the slightest clue. But you've got to try it, he'll be dead pretty soon. Jared, please tell me you can help him." For the first time that night, Bakura's voice took on a frantic edge through the exhaustion. "He's got to be okay."

"I'll do my best-"

Bakura shook his head. "You don't understand, "best" isn't good enough, he's _got _to-"

"Bakura, I promise, I'll do my extra-best, how about that?" Jared replied. He shook the bottle. "What were those symptoms again?"

Bakura repeated what Blair had told him.

"Hmmn, it could be some type of benzodiazepine…" Jared muttered to himself as he gathered up IV equipment. "I've got Mazacon, so that wouldn't be a problem, but a lot of poisons will induce convulsions and comas like this, so I couldn't be sure…I could do a test on this on this antidote to see if _it's _Mazacon but-"

Bakura, loosing his patience, reached out despite his pain and grabbed the man by his collar, shaking him. "Yami doesn't have time for you to act like a nerd!" he shouted. "To hell with testing whatnot, just give him _something. _HE NEEDS HELP _NOW_!"

Jared blinked. "Sorry, I'm sorry, but if I gave him the wrong antidote, it could only make things worse."

Bakura, breathing rather heavily, saw the sense in this and let go of Jared's collar with a scowl. "Just do something. Anything at all."

"I promise Bakura, I'll do what I can. Hold this for me, will you?" He held out a small bag of thick black liquid. Bakura took it and eyed it warily.

"What the hell is this?"

"Activated charcoal." Jared replied calmly, as if this were a common thing. He didn't offer any other information, instead busying himself with vial of liquid Bakura had given him, as well as another bottle he'd fetched from a shelf.

Bakura wrinkled his nose. Even to him, it sounded like nonsense. Right, like barbeque fuel was really going to help anything. Maybe he'd heard wrong. "Char…" he trailed off and glanced at the bag warily. "Charcoal." He repeated, as if to clarify. Jared took it from him.

"Look, I know it's not pleasant, but it's one of the best detoxifiers in the world. I might have to set up a feeding tube for him with it." Seeing Bakura's uneasy stare at the bag, he added, "You don't have to stay and watch, you know. When he wakes up, he'll probably be sick, so if you get nauseous easily, you might want to leave."

Bakura shrugged and leaned back against the wall carefully. "Whatever helps." He repeated.

Jared glanced over at Bakura and said, "You look like you're in some pain yourself."

"I think I've broken a few things." Bakura admitted, moving gingerly. He rubbed his head and flakes of congealed blood rained down. He scowled at his hands and tried to wipe some of the blood on his jeans. But they were so saturated themselves, it did little good. Damn Blair, ruining a perfectly good pair of jeans with his blood.

"Do you need a lift to the hospital?"

"No, I'm not leaving here till he wakes up. Besides, not much of this is mine, it's not as bad as it looks."

"Okay." Jared slipped the needle into the crook of Yami's arm, taped it, and turned back. "This is what I'm going to do Bakura, I'm just going to start trying to get a mix of this stuff you gave me and also some Lidocaine, that's what we use to control irregular heartbeat, into his blood, and after that we'll try the charcoal. It might not work, you need to realize that. All things considered, the best move might be to call the hospital and-"

"No, no hospitals." Bakura suddenly snapped. "I don't trust them, they have too much damn paperwork, and anyway, Yami doesn't need a hospital. He can pull through just fine here."

"Bakura-"

"Listen to me, Jar. No hospitals. That's where people go to die, don't you realize that? Yami's not going to die." Bakura's eyes were starting to blaze again.

"Okay. I'm sorry I said anything." Jared fell silent as he left the room and returned with the IV bag, hooking it to the pipe that was taped into Yami's arm, and placing an oxygen mask over his face. "Okay, it's up to him now. You're _sure_ you don't want a lift to a doctor or something? Because you look really beat, and broken ribs-"

"I told you, I'm not leaving!"

"Do you want a painkiller at least?"

Bakura paused, and shook his head, recalling how Blair acted when he'd been doing painkillers. "No, I'd like to be completely aware of what's going on right now."

"A Tylenol then? They won't make you sleepy."

"Okay, hit me with one."

Jared backed out the door and returned with the bottle, handing it to Bakura. "Call for me if anything changes, good or bad. And keep an eye on the vital-signs monitor, will you? You're lucky you caught me, I was supposed to be out of here, but I'm really busy tonight, it's like everyone decided to eat something they shouldn't have, and I could use some help, since it's mostly interns here that don't know much…"

Bakura cast an eye toward the machine that was now beeping periodically and lighting up with a bright squiggle line. He'd seen such things in movies before. "I'll do that."

"Thanks. It was right that you got here as soon as possible. You know, Yami's lucky to have a friend as good as you."

If he thought this would cheer Bakura up, it didn't. Bakura suddenly looked even more downcast and shook his head. "No, he's not. Had I been a good friend, it wouldn't have come to this. Yami doesn't like me, and he's got a lot of good reasons not to. He's not lucky at all, it's my fault he's here."

Jared didn't look at though he understood the cryptic statement,so henodded and vanished out the door. Bakura waited a few minutes before getting up and limping over to Yami's side, taking his chair with him. He studied the IV and needle, examined the oxygen mask over Yami's nose and mouth, and finally sighed. He dry-swallowed two of the Tylenol and set the bottle on the floor beside the chair, propping his elbows on the bed.

"Well Yami, you sure got both you and me into a mess this time." He said. "I hope you're proud. Had you just taken my advice and gotten out of town quickly, this might not have happened." He appraised the bag of charcoal mix and clear tube. "Now you might have barbeque pumped down your throat, and if you ask me, you deserve it." He gazed at Yami, almost fondly. "But you did spur me to take Blair out. That was good. I had some revenge to get on him anyway, for what he did to Louis. You never knew Louis, but you would have liked the kid. He was like those other friends you have. Blair killed him. So Blair deserved to die, you would agree. Besides, he was a filthy show-off. Irritated the hell out of me."

He paused. He knew that people in comas could often hear everything around them. It was a well-known fact. The beeping monitor was showing no sign of progress. He feared maybe this was Blair's final trick against him, purposely carrying around a vial of water or something to fool Bakura into optimism. But he had also seen, firsthand, Yami pull some amazing turn-abouts in both dueling and in life. He hoped that the pharaoh could find the strength to pull off one more, and tried to think of what might be able to help. So he turned to his knowledge of action movies, (Once the Millennium Items were gone, he'd had a lot of spare time on his hands.), and recalled that people could be "talked" out of comas. There was no harm in trying, so he glanced down at Yami and began,

"Look, if you're in there someplace thinking about dying, then you and me have to have a little talk. People say that you can hear in a coma. So listen up! You can't go around dying, got that? Wimps die. You're not a wimp, I know it and you know it. Besides, if you go, then where's my motivation? You're the whole reason I did all that stuff…killed those people and tried to find a way out and fought Blair and I think cracked a few ribs in here during that. I even scratched one of my brand new Tonfa Blasters, it's going to cost me now to get that buffed out! You go and die, and all that will be for nothing! I don't like to do things for nothing."

He glanced at the monitor. Nothing seemed to be happening, and while that wasn't bad, it wasn't good, either. Yami lay, silent and inmoving. Bakurascowled.

"Okay, maybe that reason wasn't good enough for you. Well, if you die, what will all the people in the world that need second chances do? You're one of those people that'll give others second chances. People like me. People that've messed up and you put your trust in them and they betrayed you…and still, you offer them another chance. Others would have just given up, said to hell with it. But you're different. If you die, all the people like me in the world'll be back to square one with no one to believe in us." He stopped and looked around one last time, making sure no one was watching. Then he reached out and touched Yami's hand. His fingers were cold; it was as if he were already dead. Silently, Bakura put his own hand over Yami's in hopes to warm it up, and he felt a small lump rise in his throat, which was odd. It resembled the way he'd felt the other night, just before leaving Yami's apartment to return to the Compound.

Finally he sighed and closed his eyes. "Look…Yami…I can sit here and make excuses all night. But…when you come right down to it…if you die, my whole life is going to die with you. You're the only reason I'm alive, the only reason I'm not out on top of a building picking people off for fun. Because I swore I'd change and I'd become someone you could like…I guess I blew that one. You'll never like me once you get the whole story. Once you know that I've lied and killed and…and I betrayed your trust, again. But I really did want to become someone new, I really did try. It just didn't work out, but you shouldn't have to take the fall for that. Yami, please, this is the one last thing I'm asking you for. I'm asking you as…asyour friend…don't die. Tell that poison to vanish out of you and just…don't leave me here alone."

Bakura blinked, his eyes suddenly stinging and to his surprise, salty trails of tears ran down from them. With his other hand, he touched his cheek and pulled it away, staring at his fingers. Tears? He was crying? He hadn't cried since…since that night back in Kuru Eruna. He'd forgotten what it even felt like to have tears run down his face. As he let himself imagine a world without Yami in it, he found an empty ache growing inside him as a result. A terrible dark spot, all the fear and pain he'd locked up throughout his life, it was spreading now throughout his body.It was just like that night all over again, watching the only things meaningful to him be taken away by forces he couldn't stop and wasn't even sure he understood.

"Don't leave me here…I don't want to be alone anymore, Yami. I don't want to be left alone again…Please-" He lifted Yami's hand and pressed it to the side of his face in a desperation he hadn't felt since he was a child. "Don't do this. Wake up, wake up and give me that idiotic smile of yours. I'd do anything, anything for you to get up and start giving one of those stupid honor speeches right now….You're the only thing important to me left here, don't you realize that? Even if the boss makes that stupid laser and destroys the world, that won't matter if you're gone, don't you understand?"

He suddenly sat bolt upright. "Oh no. The laser."

"_If the scene before you doesn't garner your full concentration, I'll gladly explain the laser to you, but I'm pretty sure once you see it, the laser will be the furthest thing on your mind. Which is good, I need to keep your mind off it while it's being prepped for tonight."_

He felt torn now, between staying, or returning to the Compound. If he went back, what would it achieve? He was hurt, the likelihood that he could stop it was slim, and he'd promised…he'd promised to stay till Yami woke up…

But, on the other hand, his Uzi was still in his room at the building, and he didn't like the idea of leaving it there for some random person to find. And also…well, wouldn't this be proof, at least a little, that he'd changed? He went back to try to stop whatever the boss had planned? So yeah, he'd made a promise to Yami, but surely the pharaoh could forgive his breaking this one, if it would mean saving the world. Besides, he was unconscious, he'd never even know he'd been lied to…and he'd probably be really proud, if Bakura was able to stop some evil plan…_He'd actually be proud of me, for the first time ever…I'd have done something right…_

Bakura struggled to his feet, gently placing Yami's hand back alongside his body, and somehow, something inside him knew that Yami was going to be okay. "You keep thinking on what I said." He told him. "I've got to go finish something, and I expect you to be alive after it's all said and done, because at least one of us has to make it out of all this." Turning, he stumbled to the door, demanding two requests of the startled intern outside.

Jared appeared from another room where two young boys were being treated for eating too much bubble-gum flavored toothpaste in a contest, looking hectic. "Bakura…what's going on…?"

Bakura handed Jared a folded piece of paper. "Give this to Yami when he wakes up. And don't get that "if" look on your face, because he's going to wake up. Give this to him, preferably before you shove charcoal down his throat, because I want him to be paying attention when he reads it."

"Okay-but-I-Where are you going?" He finally asked.

"I've got one last piece of business to contend with." Bakura called back as he rushed from the building as fast as his injuries would allow, getting into the station wagon and inserting the screw driver into the ignition.

Jared stared in confusion, then down at the paper in his hand. A sound from behind him made him spin around. Yami rolled his head to the side and moaned as he began to regain his bearings. "Wha…?" He blinked sleepily, feeling as if he'd just woken up from a long nap. But he knew that couldn't have been it. The last thing he remembered was seeing someone standing outside his apartment, and when he opened the door, the man had tried to attack him. He vaguely recalled fighting back as best he could, but he couldn't remember anything after that.

"Yami, you're awake!" Jared was delighted. He'd really been worried about how Bakura might react if Yami died while he was gone. "I guess that was the antidote after all."

"Where…?" Yami mumbled as he started to sit up, but stopped now as the room spun around him and he felt extremely sick.

"You're at the Poison-control center, in Domino. Thank god you woke up. Your friend was really worried about you. You were practically dead." Jared unhooked the oxygen mask and fetched a pail so Yami could take care of his need to vomit. "Sorry about that, your body's natural defenses are up." he explained. Yami blinked, hazy-eyed, back at him as a response. Jared shrugged. "Understandable. Want some water?"

"What…what about who?" Yami felt dizzy as a flash of a voice penetrated the fog in his mind:

…_I'm asking you as…asyour friend…don't die. Tell that poison to vanish out of you and just…don't leave me-_

"Bakura?" he asked aloud, confused as to why he'd hear those words in Bakura's voice. They weren't the sort of things Bakura would _ever_ say. Whatever had happened must have seriously messed up his head. "Who was here?"

"Your friend, Bakura." Jared replied as he filled a cup at the tap. "Here you go."

Yami gingerly tried to sit up again and this time didn't feel as woozy. "Bakura was here?"

"He sure was and damn was he freaked out. It was sort of…touching, really."

Yami glanced down at his hand for some reason and shook his head. "It couldn't have been Bakura, that's not like him. You must have been mistaken. How do you even know him?"

"No, no, it was definitely him, he had those bunny-ear spikes in his hair. I met him at the shooting range one time.Oh!" Jared pulled the paper out of his pocket and held it out. "He told me to give this to you, I almost forgot. He ran out just a few minutes ago, he looked like he was in a hurry."

Yami took the paper with his other hand and shook it open. Sure enough, it was Bakura's handwriting. He read the note and found himself at a loss for words.

"Hey, something wrong?" Jared asked, concerned.

Yami shook his head. "No, it's nothing. Just…I'm tired is all." He clutched the crumpled paper. Jared wasn't sure what that was all about and decided maybe the poison was still affecting Yami's mind, and poured him a cup of the lumpy black charcoal mix just in case. Yami surprisingly made no comment as he choked it down and struggled not to throw up again. Jared Fletcher's words were only a faint sound in his mind, and the awful taste in his mouth seemed irrelevant. The last lines of Bakura's note to him were what he was thinking about.

"_There's one more thing to do before this'll be over, and for once I think it's something you'd be proud of. I hope I can make up for everything else this way. Yami, thanks for the second chances you've given me."_

It had ended with that final sentence, tacked awkwardly to the end of the note, as if it were a shy afterthought. The rest of the letter had been hasty and unexplained. Yami didn't understand much of it. It was as if Bakura had just been writing random babble about a "boss", a laser, a secret society, murders, some people named Blair and Louis, and a lot of other things, and yet never offered any real explanation. The last paragraph was all that made any sense. But he didn't like the way the end sounded. It was too final, it read as if Bakura were trying to wish him good-bye in the only way he knew how.

"Be careful." He whispered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bakura had driven back to the Compound. The place was oddly empty. The halls echoed every time he took a step, and every room he looked into was vacant. Maybe it was just nerves, but the emptiness made the hairs on the back of his neck prick up. Going to his room, he retrieved the case his Uzi was in and assembled it, clipping the shoulder strap on and securing it. There was no telling who or what he was going to have to face, and having the gun would surely help. He eyed himself in the mirror. Covered in blood, he certainly made a sight. At least the Tylenol were starting to work.

Before leaving, he took his picture of Yami out from under the pillow and slipped it into his pocket.

Downstairs in the basement computer room, most people had cleared out as well. The boss had wished them all well and told them they could go home. The only people remaining were the few that stood by to dictate how to use the laser. Currently they were busy destroying all the plans that remained to the weapon, and were finalizing the course.

The door suddenly burst open and Bakura clomped in. The boss straightened up. "Well well well." he clapped his hands. "The gang's all here."

"Blair's dead." Bakura said by way of greeting.

"Is he really?" For some reason, the man didn't seem startled by this news.

"And if you're lucky, Yami isn't." Bakura growled, taking a step. There was a collective gasp as everyone saw first, the blood, and then the sub-machine gun in his hands. "Because if he dies, I won't be satisfied with ordinary revenge. As it is, you pissed me off by dragging him into this mess from day one by using him as a threat. But when you hurt him…that was going too far. Blair ought to be an example, he got his face blown off, sonow you know what I do to people that push me."

"Hmmn, yes, well…I didn't expect Blair to survive. You see, I know the type of person you are, and I knew you would kill him. You thought it was a lucky coincidence I let you face off with him while you still had your Tonfa Blasters? I planned that."

"You _wanted _me to kill him?" Bakura asked, perplexed.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"I don't understand you, what is it you want out of all this!"

"Of course you don't understand. Maybe that's because I want something you're _incapable_ of understanding." The boss replied. "What I want isn't your concern and never should have been. You shouldn't have come back here in the first place."

"YOU HURT YAMI!" Bakura roared, fed up. "He was completely innocent, and you poisoned him! How, tell me, HOW can you expect me to not be concerned about what you have planned! If you can do that to a stranger that you know nothing about, how can I not be concerned about what else you might do!"

"Please Bakura, watch your temper. Shouting won't help."

"How about if I shoot you, will that help?" Bakura growled.

The man before him sighed. "Bakura, Bakura, Bakura…you're still one of those people that thinks he can get anything just by making the right threats."

"And your point is?"

"My point is that one day you're going to run up against something that _can't _be threatened into your wishes."

"What are you talking about?"

"The laser, Bakura. You can't threaten a laser into switching on, or off. Machines have no emotions. I know you, you're the sort of person that will exploit others' weaknesses. But now, you can't. And it's too late for shooting anything to help."

Bakura narrowed his eyes.

The boss motioned toward the computer. "The laser is completed, the program set up. All I have to do is push the button, and after that, killing me, or killing anyone else, won't solve the real problem by a long shot."

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well, I've hit the 389 review mark, which means pretty soon I'll be sending out a "thanks for 400 reviews banner" to someone! Not that a banner is very interesting in the world of gifts…but it's still something. It'll be a pretty banner! I'll find some cute screencaps and use Paint to splice them into it and stuff. It'll be nice.

So, onto business…Yaaaaaay, Yami survived! Well, duh, he couldn't die, so it's not like that should come as a surprise, I rarely kill main characters, but…I did consider it. The first draft of this story actually had Yami die back in chapter five, because the boss shot him when he followed Bakura back to the Compound one day. (The first draft had a lot of strange things in it…) But he's not dead here. He needs a chance to explore his feelings for Bakura more. And I can't resist all the fun moral issues that will follow once he finds out what Bakura's really been up to, plus his angst over what will happen to Bakura. Hurrah for angst! (Besides, if I killed Yami, I know who I'd have to answer to, and the results would not be pretty. I'd have to run in fear for my life. So…yeah, he had to live this time around, end of argument.) The poor both of them. Bakura's in a no-win situation, and Yami's trust has been totally betrayed-again. The drama, the pain…this is what romance is all about! I'll tell you, trying to write a broken-spirited, desolated Bakura was next to impossible. It's just not possible to make it completely canon. It's easier to see him as psychotic, but really, he's a sad, lonelyperson. And who can blame him? He needs Yami more than anything else, and the thought of loosing him too is surely enough to put Bakura over the edge…again.

As a note, the information about how things proceed in poison control centers is realistic; I read up on it at the library. (There's this great book about poisons and antidotes there…that's also where I got the Lidocaine, benzodiazepine and subsequent antidote info. I think I may have scared a few people, going to the library every day at lunch and sitting in the corner by myself perusing a book of poisons. I already have my poor classmates convinced I own an Uzi and that their names are on my hit list. Now I'm studying poisons. No one's ever gonna trust me at my school again…) However, it's based on an _American_ poison control center. In Japan they might not even have PCC's. But if they do, and if they operate the same way as American ones, (which, tell me, how many different ways can there possibly be to run a PCC?), then all the details are realistic. So don't go getting poisoned, 'cause they WILL shovel charcoal down your throat, (or your nose), and it is not pleasant at all.

Anyhoo, guess what else? Next chapter is going to explain who the bossman is and what he's planning to do with this souped-up satellite, and why. It'll also reveal his name. (Yes, the crazy dude has a name!) It's about time we all got to know the answers to those questions, ne? Well, I made you suffer through 15 chapters. You're still here? Okay, just wait one more week, then I'll tell you. :niko:

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: Dead as a one-legged possum on a freeway…I like it! I like that saying, I've got to find a reason to use that sometime…Well, yes, you're sort of supposed to be confused about a few things, but of course feel free to ask me about what you're confused about…if you're confused, other people might be also and I might have messed up.

You Know Us:massive grin: Teeheehee, he's dead! D-E-D, dead! xD Sorry, couldn't resist saying it. He soooo deserved to have his face blown off with Tonfa Blasters. Syahaha…right on. Anyway, as for Yami…he's alive! So I do hope Michelle will calm down because he is alive. (BUT…he's still MY Yami-chan:smile smile: Sharing is nice.) The story will have an ending, yes, it will. But you've got to wait eight more chapters, and a lot can happen between then and now. Wait and see! Oh, but I'm so glad you enjoyed it…it was truly a highlight. :niko:

Well y'all, you'll notice this is up a day early. That's cause tomorrow I'm not only back to school, but also have an orthodontist appointment. I'll be lucky to have time to do HW and watch Yugioh, I seriously doubt I'll be able to get online. And Tuesday's prospects don't look good for online time either, and I'd hate to make you wait all the way till Wednesday. Thus, it's up today. Hope you appreciate the things I do for you all. xD Just kidding. It really wasn't that much of a hardship.

See you later-


	16. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 16

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Sixteen

Bakura paused and cast an eye toward the young man in the blue jumpsuit, who was looking around frantically. They met eyes and Bakura arched his eyebrow. Behind the boss's back, the man shrugged helplessly. Bakura returned his attention to the boss. Keeping him distracted was the best thing for now.

"Look, I know almost everything now. The least you can do is answer my questions."

"Fire away." The man replied cheerfully.

"What the heck are you doing down here?"

"Building a laser."

"What for?"

"To obliterate America, of course. The USA to be exact." The boss replied as if discussing the weather. Bakura furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Why America? Why not some other random country? What've you got against the US?"

The boss glanced off to his right and sighed. "You won't understand. No one can, unless they've lived through everything I have. Blair has shared a similar experience, but even he doesn't fully get it. I don't expect you to agree with my reasoning."

"And I sure as heck don't expect to either, but I'd like to know why you're so down on America. The country's just minding its own business over there, like every other country in the world. That's even an American-based laser you've got there."

"The country is not minding its own business. And it's not as harmless as so many people take it to be. The country of dreams, my ass." His voice had taken a familiar bitter edge. Bakura recognized the tone. It was exactly the same tone he himself got whenever he'd talk about Kuru Eruna. "That country and its army have destroyed the dreams of millions of people. Including my own."

Bakura cocked his head slightly, puzzled.

"Let me start at the beginning. You've heard of World War II, surely."

"Yeah."

"And you know the circumstances under which it ended, don't you?"

"Sure, America made those atomic bombs and dropped them on Japan…" Bakura trailed off. "Is that what this is about? Getting revenge for a bunch of people that got killed, like, sixty-something years ago?"

"No, it's not that. The bombs didn't kill everyone at first, you know. There were the initial casualties, of course. As far as I'm concerned, they got lucky to die instantly. Other people, thousands of them…they had to suffer through the aftermath. Through the chaos, through the disease and the losses they suffered. Even people that were innocent, that had never even heard of Pearl Harbor, much less had anything to do with the attack."

"But it ended the war." Bakura pointed out, ever one to argue.

"It ruined thousands of people's lives!" the boss banged his fist on the corner of the table. "Civilians, children, brave soldiers that fought for their country, military leaders, the elderly…the bombs didn't care who they touched, whether they deserved it or not."

"Look, I'm real glad you've got something you live for." Bakura said. "But could you get to the point?"

The boss studied the cuff of his shirt, and finally asked, "Do you know what Leukemia is?"

"Cancer."

"Indeed, it's a very nasty form of cancer. Of course, all disease is terrible in different ways, but Leukemia is one of the worst. It's incurable."

"…And?"

"When America dropped its bombs, it caused a lot of people that weren't killed right off to get strange, deadly diseases. Leukemia was one of those. And a lot of people never knew they had it till it was too late." He sighed. "It was a hellish time, and there's still no cure for the disease."

"That's a sad story." Bakura allowed, though he felt little remorse. Those people had died a long time ago. Frankly, he didn't care. "But I don't get what it has to do with this. That all happened before you were born, didn't it? You don't look that old."

"Exactly. It happened very soon before I was born. My mother, she lived near Hiroshima. And she got Leukemia from the radiation. She, who had nothing at all to do with the war. Her husband, my father, he was a businessman. He was American, but had lived in Japan for a long time." he indicated his blond hair. "They were both angry for Pearl Harbor, and given the chance, I believe my family would have fought on America's side. And how did the country of dreams repay their loyalty? They dropped atomic bombs. She was pregnant with me at the time. She didn't realize until some years later that she had the cancer. It killed her soon after, when I was fifteen. That's how the disease is. Sometimes it kills fast, and on rare occasions it'll haunt you through your whole life. My father, he died from what I guess was a broken heart, if it's possible to die from one of those."

Bakura suddenly sensed what was coming, and his prediction was right as the boss raised his hand and pointed to himself. "I have the disease as well. It went into remission early on, all by itself. I was beyond lucky, I was a miracle. The doctors said I could live my life as normally as possible, one of the only people to survive and move on. But how was I supposed to? A teenager, whose parents were dead, whose friends were dying, and who had somehow been the single person spared. It wasn't fair, so I decided that one day I'd make up for it. And I did. Eventually I made my way into the American military, stole the blueprints for the laser, and began my plan to make up for what I'd done. I'd make up for living when they couldn't."

"That's crazy."

"I told you, you can't understand!" The boss snapped.

"Hey, look, I know a thing or two about seeing your family and friends die, okay?" Bakura shot back. "And yeah, it bites. But come on, you can't blame yourself for living. That's like punishing yourself for eating sugar when a diabetic can't. It's not your fault you got lucky."

"I don't care whose fault it was. You never lived through it. You don't know what it was like. The American bombs killed many innocent people. I'm just doing the same thing they did."

"I think you're insane." Bakura said plainly. "An absolute nutcase."

"Think whatever you want."

"I will, and I also think that if you're going to blast a bunch of random Americans because they're just who they are, you should blast yourself too. You blame America for killing innocent people because they happened to live in Japan. And what about yourself? You had Lou killed, didn't you? And you clearly pointed out that you had other betrayers eliminated. And you threatened to kill Yami. All these people that just happened to be in the wrong place. So, by my calculation, that makes you guilty of the same thing you're accusing that other country of doing."

"Is this still about Yami? Blair was right, you are starting to get rather annoying, constantly preaching about him."

"Leave Yami out of it!"

"Why should I? You brought him up. And besides, those people jeopardized my plan. I had a reason to kill them. And shouldn't you kill yourself while you're at it? After all, you went and shot those people. No one forced you to. I never even asked you to shoot that nurse."

"You said you'd kill Yami if I didn't!"

"So? All this proves to me is that you were playing God in your own way, deciding who deserved to live and who deserved to die. Just because you protected the life of one person doesn't make you any sort of hero. And given what I've heard about him, I think Yami would agree. You and I are very similar."

"We are not!" Bakura argued.

The boss continued as if he hadn't even heard him: "We each live for one reason, and that reason is worth doing anything for. It's like I told you your first day here. We all have motivations. Mine is revenge, yours is Yami. Those things are worth killing for, we think."

"So, tell me, what was Blair's edge? What sort of motivation did he have?"

"His father was a military leader that was put in prison after the war. He later hung himself in jail. Blair grew up very bitter about it." He tapped the floor with his foot. "This jail, in fact."

"This was a jail?" Bakura asked, surprised. Well, that explained the prison-like feel in the atmosphere.

"Yes, it was. And this is all that remains of that jail, the basement. This used to be a cell for war criminals. Many military leaders after World War II were kept down here, and committed suicide. After fighting bravely for their country, they couldn't bear to live being called 'criminals.' However, Blair didn't quite understand my viewpoint. So his death doesn't matter, like I said, and I worrythat he might have been on the verge of betraying me.But as you can see, even the most coldhearted people can be driven by love. Even yourself."

"I've had just about enough of your philosophy lesson!" Bakura grumbled. "I don't care about any of that. But I think you're completely unhinged. First of all, this revenge is so childish it's ridiculous. Revenge should be used to teach a lesson. What kind of lesson is being taught if you just start blowing up cities?"

"That's phase one. Phase two is where the real objective comes into play."

"You mean incinerating America isn't your plan?"

"No! What sort of person do you think I am? That's phase one. Phase two is much more involved. By attacking America, I'm going to set off what will become World War III."

"World War III?" Bakura repeated.

"Yes."

"That's ridiculous."

"What?"

"I said it's ridiculous! It's stupid! Why the hell are you going to start up a war that'll just get even more innocent people hurt? I thought you just said that was what you were going to prevent!" It all seemed so confusing to Bakura that trying to figure out all the angles was becoming frustrating.

"Because I want people to go through what I went through." The man's eyes took on a far-off look. "I want them to see what it was like, and maybe, there will be a lesson learned."

"Yeah, that wars spawn freaks." Bakura muttered.

"You shut your mouth. You don't understand any of this. You don't get it. America will be brought to its knees. And they will be unable to partake in World War III because of it."

"Yeah, I'm still not seeing the logic. For a moment, I started to, but all this third World War stuff is nuts. All I have to say, is that you're an insane person that doesn't know what the hell they're doing, and that's a good reason to step in, in my book."

"Maybe you ought to take a good look at yourself before you accuse others of being insane." The boss replied coolly. "Maybe you ought to realize that you had a choice. And that like it or not, you're still a murderer. You still killed those people and you never once really showed that you were sorry for what you did. You never once said that you'd change it if you could go back. Maybe you just don't want to admit what you might suspect, because you're scared it's the truth. You talk a lot about protecting your friend, but could your motives not be entirely unselfish? Perhaps deep down inside you enjoy killing, and this was finally your chance to do so while making it look like an honorable thing. I said it before, I'll say it again. Protecting Yami's life didn't make you a hero. And Yami would agree."

"You don't know a damn thing about Yami, and I can tell you for a fact that he'd agree with me if I asked him right now if I should shoot your mental ass." Bakura snarled. "He would understand if I explained it to him. You're just making this up to make me feel guilty. I took this 'job' because you said you'd kill Yami. He's the only reason I'm here, it has nothing to do with myself."

"Are you positive? You're sure he wouldn't freak out and tell you to get away from him? Think about it, you go tell him that you killed a lot of innocent people, do you really think he's going to give you a hug? No, he's a reasonable person, he'll see right through that you're a killer and he'll run away from you. Who wouldn't?"

"Why did I kill them?" Bakura asked, cutting him off. There was a detail he was honestly curious about now. "Tell me that, why those four people?"

The boss shrugged. "I was bored. The laser was taking a long time. I wasn't satisfied, I wanted some revenge now. And luckily, you came along. They were Americans, and I did research on their families, they were all either involved in WWII or else their parents were. Didn't matter to me if they died, and obviously they didn't matter to you either."

Bakura stood, frozen to the spot in shock. So it had all just been a game. His life had been destroyed because the boss had been bored. He'd let down Yami's trust and become a murderer because the psycho had wanted some entertainment.

A woman approached the two and Bakura turned, firing the Uzi toward her. The bullet imbedded itself in the floor beside her and she froze mid-step.

"CAN'T YOU SEE HE AND I ARE HAVING A DISCUSSION!" Bakura shouted at her.

"Now Bakura, shooting at these people won't help, and neither will yelling."

"How about if I shoot you?" Bakura asked, raising the gun, knowing full well that if nothing else, it would be satisfying. Then he considered that maybe he ought to shoot the computer instead. Yeah, that would destroy the whole thing…

The boss must have suspected what Bakura was thinking, because he brought his finger down squarely on a button on the computer keyboard, and the woman suddenly looked horrified. "Too late now." He folded his arms. "The laser just turned itself on."

Bakura didn't have a chance to stop himself, he fired before he could think, partly out of anger, partly out of frustration, and partly because he just couldn't hold all the emotion he had stuck inside himself back any longer. The evening had put so much upon him that he wanted to scream. It was in this split moment that he realized he ought to have shot the computer before he pushed the button, but with that target no longer presentable, he'd turned to the man in front of him. Honestly, he hadn't intended on shooting the Boss yet, he'd hoped to keep the guy alive long enough to tell him how to turn the laser off if it came to that. Luckily, this registered in his head at the last minute, and he jerked the barrel down just enough so that the Boss dropped to the floor, his legs streaked with blood, but not dead.

"I can just about guarantee that Yami would support that." He snapped, and turned toward the engineers. "Where's the stop button?"

"There is no stop button." The woman, Miyuki, shrugged helplessly.

"What do you mean, 'NO STOP BUTTON'? Everything has a freaking stop button!" Bakura shouted, outraged.

"That was the boss's orders, don't create a stop button. Make it so that once it starts up, it doesn't go off till the time limit is up."

"Well, what sort of timer is it on?"

"Thirty minutes. But we didn't have a chance to finish programming the coordinates, it's just hitting random places." Miyuki looked frantic and wrung her hands. "We weren't done yet, he set it off before it was ready…"

"Thirty minutes is plenty enough time to take out a lot of cities." Bakura muttered to himself, stepping forward. "Okay, all you people, clear out."

"But, the boss said to destroy the evidence-"

"Forget what that nut said and get your asses in gear!" Bakura shouted, aiming the gun at them. "Unless you want some added motivation."

Everyone in the room raced for the door. Bakura caught the young engineer by the arm. "Not you, you stay." He turned on the boss and asked,

"Awright, what's your name? I'm sick of listening to people call you the 'boss'. You're not the boss anymore."

"My name is Iyoku Issei."

"Okay Issei, if that's really your name, tell me how to shut this off."

"They were telling the truth, it can't be shut off." The boss replied, smiling-still, with that same serene smile-from where he lay, his legs coated in blood. Bakura glared at the young man whom he'd snatched.

"Okay, you-tell me how to turn this off."

"It can't be." He said helplessly. Bakura growled and banged his fist on the table in irritation.

If there was no way to turn it off…if there was nothing he could do…then this meant that he'd failed. After everything, after he'd tried so hard to do one simple thing right…he'd failed.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

(I've corrected the forty-sixty mistake. There was a snafuinmy calculating, obviously.Thanks to 'You Know Us' for beta-reading and spotting that for me. :niko:)

So. Now we have a name to give the bossman. Iyoku Issei. His name is one I made up all by myself, and it's also got a very distinct meaning. "Iyoku" meaning ambition or will, and "Issei" meaning lifetime or existence. Put it all together, and make the surname first, (as many people in Japan do), and you have, roughly: "Lifetime ambition". I'm pleased with how that worked out, and the name fits his character. It's sinister enough for the insane bugger, but it's also a name that could belong to a completely innocent stranger-the way he could have been. Took me a long time perusing a Japanese-English server before I settled on an appropriate one.

And now his reasoning has a story behind it too. I'm also happy with the background story this fic had. It might have been a little…typical…but it WAS historic, detailed, and reasonable. Heck, losing his family and friends drove Bakura insane, so it could happen to anyone. Plus, the fact that he and Bakura's stories are oddly similar was planned irony. See, though they have similar backgrounds, one can see the differences in their choices they made, and how they ended up where they did. Like, Bakura has love to live for and Issei's got hate, and you can see where each led…and…is anyone understanding the symbolism here, or am I just confusing you? I wanted an evil character with a little sympathy, so I figured I'd bring in the sad childhood story. Sort of your average unhinged character, I know, but at least there were a FEW original things about him. He's not as cut-out as he could have been. I hope no one thinks I used the reasoning behind the murders as a cop-out. The simplicity was supposed to show how the boss, while very calm and collected, still has the senseless thinking patterns of someone that's insane. It's supposed to be symbolism, so don't take it as a cop-out!

Seriously though, this is a looong way from over, so don't get comfy yet, okie?

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: Huh. I sort of like the driving into oncoming traffic idea. :ponders: Hmmn…awright, the evil guy had a plan, so sue me. (Well…actually, please don't. I don't have any money.) I don't plan on using such a sort of quote though, that's just sort of cheesy. Been done too many times.

You Know Us: Hallelujah, I'm not on Michelle-chan's hit list anymore. Whew. At least you enjoyed it, however non-canon it might have been. Gotta love the angst. :niko: Ahh, yes! I did lots of research, better believe it. Had to make everything realistic on the off-chance that someone decided to research my research. O.o Nah, he's an OC dude. (OC meaning Other Character, not that he's actually "OC". Syahaha…) Awright Michelle, we can share. Just don't forget who introduced you two!

Okay, I dunno what to say down here this time…Compy's going into the shop likely sometime this or next week, but his repairs should only take a day and so it won't delay the next chapter or anything. I can't wait to get everything running like it should again. So many things I want to save and download and delete too, and now I'll finally be able to do all those things again. Plus, I'll be able to finish my AMV I was working on. Thank kami, I'm starting to go into lack-of-working-on-an-AMV shock. :spasmodic eye twitch:

Peace and love everybody, I'll see you here in a week-


	17. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 17

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Seventeen

Bakura stared, helpless, at the computer set-up. He knew very little about them as it was, and a giant super-computer running a program that controlled a laser was beyond the knowledge he had. The engineer was standing there aimlessly, of no use at all.

"Shit, I can hardly hold my own in a game of pinball on these infernal machines, how can I stop a laser?"

"Why do you want to stop the laser?" Issei, formerly the boss, asked. "Those people aren't important to you. They're strangers. They mean nothing. I thought you liked killing."

"You got fed a lot of lies about me." Bakura argued, pushing random buttons. "Only if I think there's a good reason. I leave people alone if they don't bother me." _Besides, if somehow his idea works and a new World War begins…I can't protect Yami from a war._

"You can't protect Yami from a war…how sweet. I never would have guessed at the start that you had such a soft heart."

"Did you just read my mind!" Bakura demanded, spinning around.

"Heavens no, you muttered it under your breath and I heard you." The boss smiled.

"Why the hell are you so cheerful anyway?" Bakura asked, jabbing ctrl-alt-delete and achieving nothing this time. "You've been shot, aren't you in any sort of pain?"

"I'm fairly immune to pain." Issei replied, looking down at his blood-streaked legs. "Leukemia treatments back then were crude and painful. They still are, I might add."

"Great, I've got myself a regular masochist." Bakura muttered angrily.

"If you wait another twenty minutes, the laser will shut off on its own, and you can return to your life. I don't understand what you're trying to do. Shouldn't you be with Yami, wherever he is? You're free now, you can have your life back."

"Yami WAS my life!" Bakura bellowed, wheeling around again and sweeping his hand toward the computers. "You take him away, and I've got nothing left! He's half-dead because of you! And I'm not going to stand here and let you get away with your plan after what you've done to him! I want that laser shut off and destroyed before the American military tracks the laser to the satellite and thinks Japan is trying to restart World War II!"

"Well then there's nothing you can do. I didn't put a magic 'off' switch on it. It runs by coordinates, and as long as America is within the bounds that were set, then there's a lot of people that will be killed." He laughed. "World War III will be a reality, and this time around, America won't be able to get involved. They'll already be crippled beyond help! You can't escape a laser! It'll keep on devastating them. Then, when it's over, they'll track it to the Japanese satellite and a new war will break out, and a lesson will finally be learned."

Bakura considered that and sat the engineer down at the main computer, whispering something to him. The man suddenly looked more secure and began typing away.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Issei asked.

"You gave me one hell of a great idea." Bakura said, indicating the rapidly-typing young man. "If I can't shut the laser off, I'll just relocate it to a certain point and hold it there till it stops."

"Oh, and I suppose you just _happen_ to know the coordinates of a completely unpopulated location?" Issei asked, suspecting a bluff.

Bakura shook his head. "No, but I know the coordinates of one place here. And it's far enough from the city so that the city will be spared, and keeping the U.S safe. Besides, this fitting revenge for someone else. Louis deserves it." He grabbed the engineer by the arm and shoved him toward the door. The man ran for it without question. "He gave me the only coordinates I ever memorized. I thought he was nuts for memorizing such stupid things. But he said I might need the information and he was right. The only coordinates I know, are the ones that this building sits on."

"But you'll kill yourself in the process!" Issei narrowed his eyes. "Would you really kill yourself to save someone else? I thought you never put someone else ahead of your own needs."

"Well, at one point that would have been the truth." Bakura said quietly. "This'll be the first time I've ever saved someone for their sake and not for my own needs. I left the car running so I guess now I'll see how fast it can go, but you're right, I could die too. But you know, I'm okay with it. An end might be nice. It's about time a lot of things ended."

"But you'll only have about ten seconds while the laser switches courses."

"Then I'll just have to try, there's nothing left to lose. So, this is good-bye."

"I hope you realize that this won't help you. I'll have revenge."

"Oh no you won't, you'll be dead." Bakura shot.

"Ah, that won't matter. You'll still end up regretting your choices. No matter what happens to me. It's merely fate that you will regret them. Karma, as they say."

"Whatever you say, chief." Was Bakura's final comment as he hit the enter button and without any further ceremony, ran from the room. He raced for the car, and jammed his foot down on the gas. Dust spewed into the air, and gravel was heard clanging against the undercarriage. The engine whined in protest. Bakura gripped the wheel and gunned it. A tree on one side took off the driver's door, which he hadn't bothered to take the time to close. And surprisingly, he felt no fear, only a solid concentration on the road in front of him. It was finally going to be over, that was all that mattered. How it got that way was irrelevant, as long as it was over, and he was free.

Up in space, the satellite registered the change to coordinates and the laser, currently making its way through Montana, shut off and swiveled around toward its new target.

And then, time was up. The Compound and everything within a half-mile of the building was consumed by light, and the tremor that resulted could be felt throughout Domino. A fire erupted in the forest, quickly spreading the chaos that the laser had begun. Thirteen minutes after impact, the satellite clicked the laser off, and the deadly machine, not looking much like the weapon that it truly was, continued its quiet, innocent circumnavigation of the Earth.

* * *

Yami felt the small-scale earthquake-like tremor, and from his window he could see the flames of the burning trees leaping into the air. And when Bakura didn't reappear at the poison-control center after about eight minutes, a cold fear started to clamp down on his chest. He struggled to his feet and unhooked the IV, grabbing the wall for support as he made his way to the hall. Jared saw him, braced against the side of the door, blood running down his arm. He ran over, calling,

"It was only a small earthquake, nothing to worry about."

"Jared-" Yami began. "You have to-"

Jared reached him and shook his head. "Yami, you need to get back in bed, you're too weak to be up walking around, that'll put too much strain on your heart right now, and look-you're bleeding like mad. Your tests aren't finished-"

"Bakura." Yami said quietly, unable to force his voice any higher in urgency. "He's in trouble."

"How do you know?"

"He is!" Yami started to take a step and nearly fell over, clutching the wall. "He's in trouble, that wasn't an earthquake." He remembered the research he'd done, and even though his theory was far-fetched, it was the only explanation he could find. The laser _must_ have caused that tremor.

"He's fine, Yami, please go back to bed." Jared tried to push him back into the room. Yami planted himself on the floor and refused to move, saying as seriously as he could,

"He's in trouble!"

Jared stared in Yami's urgent eyes and nodded. "Okay, tell you what. I'll go look, okay? Where do you think he is?"

"He's up in the mountains. He's…someplace there."

"That's a bad place to be, that earthquake sparked a forest fire up there. And there's poison gas too, haven't you seen the warning signs?"

"He's there…I can just feel it, he's in danger and that's where he is…" Yami let go of the wall and straightened up the best he could.

"Okay, okay, if it'll make you go back and lay down, I'll go check and make sure he's not up there."

"No-I'm coming with you." He took a wobbly step forward, but stayed on his feet.

"No way you're not. You're still really weak, and any extra strain on your heart right now could be deadly. That poison is still affecting you, whether you know it or not. You might be conscious, but it's still in you, and-"

"I told you, I'm coming." Yami's voice was deathly serious. "I need to be there.

"Why?"

"I just do. It's…important to me." His voice almost wavered. It was the look on his face that finally caused Jared to relent.

"Alright, alright. If you're that determined…it'll just be your fault if you have a heart attack." He got the keys to his truck and helped Yami walk down the hall outside to the vehicle.

"Thank you." Yami spoke up from the passenger's seat as he buckled himself in and caught his breath. The simple walk had tired him out beyond belief. Damn poison.

They weren't the only car on the road trying to see what was going on. Firefighters and police were trying to hold back curious bystanders at the edge of a dirt road that led into the forest. Fire engines were lined up alongside it, spotlights trained on the woods. A police officer saw Jared and Yami, cruising along, trying to find an opening. He began running toward them and waving his arms, shouting through a megaphone,

"No pedestrian traffic!"

Jared glanced at Yami. "Now what?"

Yami glanced back at him. "This thing has four-wheel drive, I hope."

"I've never run from the police before in my life."

"First time for everything." Yami replied.

"We're going to get caught…"

"Just drive, goddammit!" Yami lost his patience and jammed his foot down on the gas pedal for him. The tires whined against the pavement.

"Okay, okay!" Jared took the hint and sped past the police officers, trying to set up a quick roadblock.

"You guys, stop!" The officer hollered into his megaphone. Jared took a breath and pressed the gas to the floor. The truck barreled over some fallen trees and weaved past the fire engines, hoses reading off in all directions into the woods. The police were unable to follow for the moment in their cars, and the two in the truck sighed in relief.

"That was close."

"Close! I'm going to be in major trouble when we get caught…"

"But we haven't been caught yet, and I'll pay your ticket if you get one." Yami said. "Besides, Bakura is more important than a clean driving record."

"Yami, if you don't mind my asking, why are you so concerned about him, anyway? Bakura said you didn't like him. But now you're so frantic to find him, and make sure he's not hurt. Why is that?"

Yami was silent for a moment, then replied softly, "I'm not really sure why myself."

"Ne?" Jared blinked.

"Bakura's right, I used to hate him, and he hated me. But a lot of things have happened since then. I want to believe that deep down inside him, there's a good person. And truthfully, I'm not even sure why I want to believe that. But I think of him and there's a part of me that wants so badly to find something about him to like, despite the bad things he's done to me and my other friends."

Jared studied Yami and then leaned back, carefully turning a corner. "Well, I think there's someone good inside him."

"You do?"

Jared laughed. "You were unconscious. If only you could have heard his tribute to you. He sounded like he really cared about you. I only met him one other time, at the shooting range, and then he was very cynical and harsh. But he actually sounded soft when he was talking to you."

"I did hear something." Yami said quietly. "I heard someone talking to me, but I couldn't tell who it was. There was only one line I caught…someone asking me as their friend, to not leave them. And it sounded like Bakura, but…at the time, I didn't think he'd say something like that. I never thought he would."

"It was definitely Bakura." Jared nodded. "No one else was in there. I think you're right, there's a good person inside him. And that person came out just for a moment then. You might be exactly who he needs." He glanced at Yami again and amended quickly, "You know, I mean, not as more than friends or anything. I just meant as friends, that was all."

Yami stared out the window into the forest, wondering where Bakura was at that moment, if he was hurt or even worse. "Maybe more than friends wouldn't be so bad." He whispered, then stopped himself in surprise at what he'd said. So deep in thought, he almost didn't hear Jared say anything, and only after the driver had stomped on the break did Yami pull out of his thoughts.

"Hey, I think that's the car he was in." Jared said, pointing. Yami turned to look. There, through the smoke of the fires and the dust stirred up by the truck, he could see the Station Wagon that Blair had abducted him in, dented and scorched, laying on its side and propped against a tree as if someone had thrown it there from above.

"Bakura…" Yami thrust open the door. One of the forest fires, sparked nearby, made it hard to see through the smoke, and it burned his throat and eyes. "Bakura!" he shouted toward the car, coughing. "Can you hear me? Bakura!"

There was no reply.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Okay, I'm sorry everyone that this is a day late. Stupid site was in a bad mood with me yesterday and wouldn't let me log in, so I've got a totally valid excuse.

I was re-reading this and you know...I always do this in any fic involving romance. The two from the pair, one is in trouble, the other goes looking for them, at the end of the chapter you still don't know if the one in trouble is okay. :shakes her head: Such a common sl of mine. Tsk tsk. I'm such a predictable person! But, this fic has been so uncommon…maybe I'll surprise you. :wink:

But, despite that all the bad guys are essentially dead now, this fic is by no means over! It is not without its final twist. Originally there was only 18 chapters, but I decided that the end was too common. It was sort of boring, and too…straight and narrow I guess. Such a convoluted story can't end so simply! Let's face it, a simple ending just doesn't seem right. This story deserves an ending worth reading. So, what will be the final twist(s)? Well, you'll find out. There was a hint in this chapter. The real question is if you'll be able to stand much more of this fic and will be able to stand to see it to the end…I hope you will. For however weird this is going to get…the end is…nice. And I want everyone to read it.

Replies!

Una1: Eek, I didn't mean to make your brain numb…well, I guess I sort of did, but I don't want you to do badly in class because of me! Squee! I'm glad! I try to branch out with my fics, I'm really glad you think it matches up with the others. Yeah…it's controversial, thus I thought it might make for an interesting topic. xD Well, I personally created the boss in order to make him suffer…so you should enjoy that. :niko: Aww…I'm also really glad I could help redefine how you felt about Bakura…I admit, he's not the most likeable character. But underneath…he's not so bad. I hope to!

Scoodoo58: O.o Seriously, right? I hope this sort of thing will only happen in stories and movies, and never in real life…though I can't blame them for being angry at us, and in the long run, it is possible, and it's scary.

Hershey-Kiss: Yeah…I don't like that line anyway, thus, I won't use it. Bush and the Pope? Hmm…well, I'm not Catholic, nor do I like Bush, so no worries about insults there…but I'm really not seeing the resemblance. But…I guess it's true. Yeah…he did have a tragic childhood…the guy still had to die though. xD I like your way of coming up with names! It's funny. :laughs: I've also been known to randomly select names in the phone book. Naming charrahs is fun, there's so many things one can do…

You Know Us: Ah…that wasn't a typo, that was a total brain-fart. xD I'm glad you pointed that out. As I said, it's been fixed and now my readers can read without fear of corruption in their history dates. (I would feel bad aboutcorrupting people's history dates...)So, everyone's favorite 5-foot-2-inch tall and impossibly cute hero got a place in this chapter, is Michelle-chan happy? I should hope so! The US is safe, (good news for us, anyway! xD), now it's the future of the characters that we have to worry about.

Woo, four reviews for the same chapter! This must be some type of TPoaH record. Hey, I ain't complaining. And while I'm really pissed off at the TV stations, I'm also in a fairly good mood seeing as that 174 shall play this week, (Woot!), and alsothat my computer will, at least, let me work on AMV projects. It won't let me save this one particular file as a vid for some reason…but at least it'll let me work on the projects, which is a hell of a lot better than nothing!

Bye bye for now-


	18. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 18

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Eighteen

Through the smoke, Yami waited, heart having moved up to his throat, hoping he'd see some sign of movement. Anything at all…but there was nothing, no reply to his calling and he pushed the door the rest of the way open and slid out.

"Yami, what are you doing? This smoke is dangerous-"

"Oh, shut up!" Yami snapped, waving his hand, walking unstably toward the upturned car, coughing through the smoke. _Bakura, why aren't you answering me? You've got to be nearby…_

Off in the distance came the sound of sirens. Most likely the police. Yami kept on walking, trying to wave the smoke from his face, his shirt pulled up over his nose and mouth. Spotlights on the fire trucks lit up the evening sky and gave him plenty of luminescence to see by.

"Yami, come back here! The police can look for Bakura, they've got the strength to!" Jared shouted. He was worried about the white-haired guy too, but he didn't think that Yami would be able to do much in his state. It was bad enough if Bakura had already died, either from the crash or from something else, he didn't want Yami to choke to death on the smoke as well. But Yami ignored him, finally reaching the car. He stumbled to the door and peered inside, pounding on the window.

"Bakura! Bakura, are you in there?" He tried the handle and found it unlocked. Wrenching the door open, he shook his head to clear it and looked to see the inside of the car was empty. Taking a step back, he shook his head again, but this time in disbelief. Bakura _had _to have been with the car, but where was he? Jared had said this was the car he'd been driving…could he have been thrown out? This was the only car they'd seen, so it must be his. He dropped to his knees and screamed,

"BAKURA! ANSWER ME!"

And there, through the fog in his mind, he thought he heard a reply.

"Bakura!" he struggled to his feet and whirled around. "Bakura, where are you?"

Two trucks with flashing police lights and loud sirens pulled up, and the officers jumped out, guns drawn.

"Put your hands on top of your heads, don't move!" they shouted, approaching Jared's truck, while two others carefully walked up to Yami. Jared did as he was told, but Yami instead turned back around and took a step the other way.

"Put your hands on top of your head!" the two of them commanded. Yami took another step back, now against the side of the car. Then he heard it again, a moaning sound.

"Bakura?" He broke from his spot and the police raced toward him, shoving him to the ground as if they expected him to draw a gun on them at any moment.

"Be careful with him, he was poisoned!" Jared scolded the officers. "He's still weak!"

"Please, my friend is here, he's hurt." Yami begged, struggling uselessly against them. "I've got to find him."

"No one is here, he doesn't know what he's talking about." One of the policemen said to the other as he pulled out his handcuffs.

"I heard him!" Yami argued.

"The smoke's gone to his head…"

"Bakura's here, and if you don't find him soon, he'll die!" Yami shouted. "And if that happens, I'll never forgive you! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

The cops couldn't possibly have known the significance that his statement carried, but for some reason they suddenly let him go, the cuff only cinched around one of his wrists. Yami sat up in surprise. He hadn't expected that to work.

Then Yami heard what they had heard too, someone's voice shouting, "Hey! HEY! You, people…HEY!"

"Bakura." He said breathlessly. Only Bakura would shout 'you, people' instead of 'help'.

One of the officers snatched his radio and began dictating orders into it. The others pushed the car away from the trees it was propped against. Yami heard someone's voice gasp from behind the car,

"It's about…goddamn…time!"

Yami, now completely ignored by the police, got to his feet and took the final few steps over behind them, where he saw Bakura sprawled on the ground, his prized gun flung over his shoulder. Yami inadvertently winced at the sight. Bakura's right side was a mass of gouged skin and fabric, dirt, and congealed blood where it seemed the car had fallen on him. His leg, in particular, appeared crushed. Bakura looked up tiredly and his eyes registered on Yami. Blinking, he said weakly,

"Yami…you're okay!"

"Bakura…" Yami had no idea how Bakura could still be conscious, let alone talk, but felt the weight of a million pounds lift off his shoulders at the sound of his voice. If he could talk, maybe it meant he wasn't hurt so badly as he looked. "So are you!"

"To an extent." Bakura replied with a grimace. "I think…the Uzi got…scratched though."

"That can be fixed." Yami said, kneeling down.

"I'm glad…you're okay…" Bakura said quietly, seemingly struggling to hold his head up. "I'm really…" Unable to finish, he finally slumped to the ground with a sigh.

"Bakura!" Yami grabbed his hand in terror. "Bakura, wake up-"

"Calm down kid, he's in a lot of pain and stress, he's just passed out. Probably from blood loss." One of the older police tapped Yami's shoulder, not unkindly. "You should move aside, the ambulance will be here soon." They seemed to have forgotten about arresting him and Jared for running.

Yami began to rise, but a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him and felt himself go light-headed.

"Kid…?" He heard the officer's voice, far off in the back of his head, but that was all, because at that moment he collapsed to the ground too, Bakura's hand still in his. When the ambulance arrived a few moments later, the ERs jumped out and rushed over with a gurney. They stopped and looked down at the two lying on the ground. The head of the rescue team glanced at the officers and asked,

"I thought you told me there was just one person we had to pick up?"

* * *

Bakura was in a bed…a comfortable bed too, it was soft and felt like paradise compared to the memory of having that car on him. The pain was mysteriously gone, replaced by a floating sensation. Probably the results of world-class drugs. He felt as though he'd just woken from a month's worth of sleeping. Someplace, far in the distance, Bakura heard arguing. The sounds of people's raised voices irritated him and he wanted to shout at them to shut up, he was trying to sleep. But he couldn't find the energy to lift his head, and finally settled for moaning instead. The voices seemed to get louder, and Bakura, getting fed up, finally opened his eyes just in time to see Yami's head over the edge of the foot of the bed. Trying to lift his head again, he saw that he was in a room, (which looked unsettlingly like a hospital room), and Yami seemed to be struggling with two people at the door to get in. His voice sounded oddly scared.

"Let me in-c'mon, LET ME IN, that's my friend, I need to see him. Goddammit, I told you I'm not carrying any weapons or whatever, I just want to see my friend…I _know _he's unconscious, I just want to see him! Will you please just LET. ME. THROUGH!"

_Yami? _Bakura thought blearily. Another wave of exhaustion passed over his head and he fell back to his pillows as the angry voices faded into the distance. Maybe it was all just a dream…

Unfortunately, Bakura later woke, (in what was indeed the hospital), to find it wasn't a dream at all, but something of a living nightmare. Everything had been explained to him and he was now simply lying there, a few hours after the fact, feeling sorry for himself. Hearing the door open, Bakura saw Yami again, stumbling into the room, looking positively hectic and watched guardedly by two armed policemen at the door.

"Bakura?" Yami asked, kneeling down. "Are you okay?" His voice was oddly soft. "Are you hurt very badly?"

"I'm fine." Yami didn't look satisfied and Bakura repeated, "Honest Yami, I'm okay, it's not so bad. I should be walking fineagainin a couple three months or so."

Yami's worried face broke into a smile. "Well, I'm glad!"

Bakura said nothing in reply to that, and Yami's smile began to fade again. "What, you're not happy to see me? You have no idea what I had to go through to get in here, it was insane."

Bakura looked away and before he could stop himself, muttered, "I wish you weren't here."

He hadn't meant for Yami to hear that, but when he looked back over, the crestfallen look on Yami's face indicated he had heard it clearly. "Yami-wait, don't take it like that-I didn't mean-" He suddenly stumbled over an apology. "I just, didn't want to be seen like this-" He trailed off lamely. Yami's eyes looked less dejected with that and he pulled himself together.

"Well, don't I at least get a 'thank you' for saving your life? You could still be stuck under that car."

"Oh, sure…yeah, thank you. It's not that I don't appreciate it, I-" Bakura wondered how he was supposed to explain. He just didn't want to have to tell Yami the whole story, which he would undoubtedly ask for now. He didn't want to have to explain the murders and deal with the disappointment that would surely be in Yami's eyes. But instead, Yami asked,

"Bakura…what's up with all the police and suits around your room door? There's even American government agents out there. I had to make up this huge long story about how we were related to get in here. It's like you're some sort of prisoner."

"That's because I am one. Well, not officially, but I am." Bakura said, suddenly smiling lamely.

"What?"

"They think I'm a dangerous international terrorist." Bakura replied, still with that painful smile. "They explained it to me earlier, that the 'situation' is not in my favor and all that crap. I'm surprised they let you in. I mean, they haven't formally arrested me yet, they've got no proof, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. It's obvious they think I'm to blame."

"They think you're…you're a…?"

"International terrorist, yeah." Bakura nodded. "They haven't said it out loud, but they're treating me like one. Check out the room, no windows, see? It's because they think that I, with this busted leg, am going to get up, jump out the fifth-floor window, and escape. They want me nearby so they can arrest me as soon as they get clearance."

Yami stared at him, as if waiting for a punch line. Then: "Bakura…why do they think you're some sort of terrorist?"

"Remember that laser research you did? And that big fire you found me in? Well, that laser caused that fire, it blew up a building there in the mountains. See, it was originally aimed at America, and I turned it around. They think that I was trying to fire it at Domino too for some reason or another." Bakura shrugged. "What the hell. There's worse stories that could be made, I suppose."

"But, you weren't trying to fire the laser at Domino…where you?" Yami asked.

"No! What sort of person do you think I am? Lasers! Way too high-tech. Give me a good old-fashioned gun or some dark magic any day, then we'll talk destruction." Bakura offered a glare toward the police at the door. He didn't much care what they heard anymore.

"But-I don't understand-" Yami blinked rapidly. "I don't _get _this, what the hell is going on?"

Bakura shrugged again, but it turned into a grimace when it put too much strain on his wounds. "I'm not sure myself. I'm not a terrorist, I was trying to stop the stupid thing. Still, what they say goes, I mean, they found the satellite up in space. I can't exactly deny there's a laser up there. They need someone to prosecute, and they just happened to find me running from the scene. So I'm their scapegoat, plain and simple."

"And you're just going to let them assume this?" Yami asked, aghast.

Bakura shook his head. "In case you haven't noticed, Yami, I'm hurt, drugged up, and bedridden. I don't have the strength to fight back. Heck, otherwise, I'd be out of here by now!" He jerked his thumb toward the door. "If I had two working legs, I'd be miles from all this right now. Fifth floor or not. It's not as if I _like_ being treated like a common criminal."

Yami was silent for a long time as he recovered from his shock, and finally asked,

"Bakura, I want you to tell me what happened."

"I already did." Bakura muttered impatiently. "I already told you."

"No, I want to know how all this started. Why you went missing, what was the deal with those laser plans, why that guy kidnapped me, everything. I want to know what I got caught up in. Your friend, Jared, he told me all about how someone poisoned me. I want to know if it's over. Is there someone else that's going to come after us?"

"No, it's over." Bakura said, avoiding the first part of the question. "And I definitely don't plan on pulling it again. There's only so many times a person can endure having a car land on them, and I think my limit is once per lifetime. Besides, seeing as you seem to have serious short-term-memory loss, I'm practically under arrest right now."

"I've noticed, Bakura, you don't need to be rude. And I think you've avoided my first question long enough." Yami narrowed his eyes. "I want the whole story, Bakura, I don't care how many police are standing outside your door. I don't care what lies you told them, I want the true story. I think I deserve it."

"I-I can't tell you." Bakura saw no other way to handle it, a flat-out refusal was his last chance.

"Why not?"

"Because…" he fell silent.

"Is it because the police are listening?"

"No, that doesn't matter."

"Then why?"

"Because if I tell you then you'll know just what sort of person I am and you'll hate me!" Bakura exploded. He hadn't forgotten the words of the ill-fated Issei back at the Compound:

"_Think about it, you go tell him that you killed a lot of innocent people, do you really think he's going to give you a hug? No, he's a reasonable person, he'll see right through that you're a killer and he'll run away from you. Who wouldn't?"_

The words were burned into his memory and they tormented him as he tried to imagine Yami's reaction. Issei's prediction seemed likely, and Bakura felt defeated.

_Yami, I tried, I really did try to change. …I don't want you to run away from me. _

"I already know what kind of person you are." Yami replied, puzzled. "We've been over this, that stuff all happened in the past, didn't we agree when Mahaado resurrected us both that we'd try to put what happened behind us and see about being friends? I know why you did what you did, and-"

"It's not about the past!"

"Then will you _please _make some sense? Why can't you tell me?"

"Look, if you knew the truth…you said it yourself, the stuff is all in the past. Can't it just stay there? I'm tired of thinking about it." He looked away. "I just don't want to have to think about it anymore. It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does matter." Yami persisted. "It matters a lot, and it matters to me." Bakura glanced over at him and to his surprise he saw Yami's eyes were starting to look shiny, as if he were about to cry at any moment. He wondered if maybe he shouldn't have been so blunt before. He had to admit that he himself was still in shock too over waking up after major surgery to be called a terrorist. _I guess Yami must feel even more lost than I do. He doesn't even know what he got caught up in._

Finally he mumbled something under his breath. "Ilidetooyu."

"What?"

"I said, I lied to you. You once asked me something in confidence and I lied to you."

"And how is that something new?" Yami asked, somewhat amused. "You always lie to everyone. Why are you suddenly stricken with guilt?"

"I killed those people." Bakura said, making no move to lower his voice. If the police heard, it wouldn't make any difference. He was already screwed, a few more marks by his name would make no difference now. "I told you I didn't, and I didn't think you believed me when I said it, but you still trusted me and I still lied. Now I'm really telling the truth. I killed them."

A dozen different emotions crossed Yami's face. Disbelief, realization, confusion, disappointment, anger…even a small spark of fear. Finally he asked, "Why did you kill them?"

"Because…because if I didn't, the guy that stole the plans for that laser from the American military, his name was Iyoku Issei, he was going to have you killed. He told me I had to kill these four certain people, and if I didn't, he'd kill you. So there you go." He glared. "There's the story. There's the big important news you wanted. I did it to protect you."

To his surprise, Yami didn't move, he appeared to be lost in thought. Then: "Why me? My life isn't worth any more than those people's lives. If anyone should have died, it _should_ have been me, I've gotten the chance to live two lives."

"Yes, your life is more important!" Bakura started to sit up, but a sudden burst of pain found its way through the drugs and forced him back down, wincing.

"Why?" Yami wanted to know.

"Because…because…" Bakura squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see whatever look that would appear in Yami's face, "…Because I love you! And I didn't want anything bad to happen to you!"

He wasn't sure what to expect in the way of a reaction. Shock seemed most likely. Instead he heard Yami's voice, sounding curious, "So…this 'Issei', he wanted you to kill certain people, and he threatened to kill me if you wouldn't? He used me as his threat? Is that why I was kidnapped too? He had me poisoned?"

"Weren't you listening to what I just said!" Bakura snapped, opening his eyes.

"Sure I was listening. I'm just trying to understand." Yami's eyes watched him intently and Bakura felt his anger slide away. It seemed that for the moment, he wasn't going to be chewed out. He sighed.

"Let me start at the beginning…"

It took a good few hours to explain everything, from where he'd been and why, and explaining why the former commander-in-chief had wanted the laser. When finished, his throat was dry and he felt oddly empty. Empty of emotion, of thoughts, of everything. He just wanted everything to be over with. It was ruined, his one chance at doing the right thing had resulted in him being punished. Obviously some things never changed. _What I told Louis was true. _He thought bitterly. _No one really gets what they deserve, it was true. Issei was right after all…he's getting his revenge. I never should have stopped that laser. I should have let it fry America and just ran when I had the chance._

Yami folded his hands and rested his chin on them. "Those people you killed still weren't worth any less than me." He began. "All things considered, you should have tried to get out of there and forgotten about me."

"Fine, then next time I'm kidnapped by a psychopath and forced into becoming their assassin, I'll just let you die! It'd be a hell of a lot better than getting blown up and accused of terrorism and thrown in jail! If this is the thanks I get for doing the right thing, then SCREW DOING THE RIGHT THING!" Bakura snapped, at the end of his temper. Yami was so methodical about his answers, he drove him up the wall.

"I wasn't finished." Yami said sharply.

"Oh. Go on."

"As I said, they weren't less important than me. I understand that you had a justified reason, but not everyone will understand that reasoning, their families won't care who you did it for. They were innocent and didn't deserve to die."

"I just wanted to do something right." Bakura said miserably. "I just wanted to become someone you could like. I wanted to prove that I wasn't heartless. It all got messed up, everything just got screwed up someplace. I was going to protect you, I only had one choice, I never _wanted _to kill them, and this laser business-I _saved _the world and I'm getting punished-"

"Are you ever going to let me finish my thought before interrupting?"

"Sorry, sorry, go ahead and finish. But if you're working up to a good long scolding, just hit me over the head with something first so I can be unconscious for it, okay? Even heartless people don't much like being yelled at. I'm goddamned _sick _of being yelled at."

"I'm not going to yell at you."

"Huh?"

"However far off track you got, your intentions began as good ones." He rested his hand on Bakura's shoulder, very gently. "I know what it's like to want to do something right and then it doesn't work out. I don't think you're heartless, not at all. I think you have a heart and you just never learned to use it. Unfortunately, you had to figure it out in circumstances without any right or wrong. You can't be blamed for that. Bakura, you did what you thought was the right thing, and I'm really, really sorry that you're being blamed for it now. It's not fair."

"Well, 'sorry' isn't going to save my butt." Bakura muttered. "I'm sorry this whole damn thing happened. I'm even sorry I beat that show-off in the shooting contest because if it weren't for _that, _none of this would be happening. But that's not changing anything! And furthermore, you confuse me! One second you're saying I can't be forgiven and the next, you're saying that you don't blame me after all. After everything is said and done, I still killed those people. And I'm still the jerk that killed your friends back in Egypt. And I'm still the guy you always hated. So why are you being so nice to me now? That's something I've been wondering about for a long time. Despite everything, you gave me a second chance at a life, you helped me out that night the police were swarming your neighborhood, and you're understanding about this. Why have you done all that for me? Why haven't you given up on me? Why are you still here? Anyone else would hate me for all that, but you don't!" His voice rose to a frustrated howl. "Why don't you hate me, Yami, why don't you hate me for everything I've put you through?"

Yami looked away. "Maybe I've got a few feelings I'm still trying to work out. About you and about myself too. If you want me to hate you, it's not going to work.If anything, I just wish I could help." He paused. "Did you really mean it, when you said you loved me?"

"You think it was another of my lies?" Bakura asked scathingly.

"No, I'm just wondering exactly what you meant." Bakura was surprised that Yami's voice was so calm, and he suddenly felt rather bad for snapping at him. As it was, he might not have a long time left to talk with Yami. Even if they decided to forego the terrorism charge, he was pretty sure that five counts of murder were being added to his list as he spoke. The police at the door were all talking excitedly among themselves. The thought depressed him further.

"I mean it exactly as it sounds." He said. "I mean that I think about you and there's all these emotions that I have that I never had before, and I think that I'd do anything for you, that's why I became Issei's assassin. I mean that when I look into your eyes…I don't know, it just feels like I finally belong there." He stopped. "I can't believe I just said that."

Yami blinked. "That was really nice."

Bakura stopped in mid-rant. "You thought so? I thought it was pathetic."

"And you're not afraid to say that?"

"Well, considering there's really nothing I can say now that'll get me in anymore trouble than I already am…Aw heck, no, I'm not. It's true. I shouldn't be scared to tell the truth for _once_, I suppose. He shrugged.

"You're a lot braver than I…" Yami said quietly.

"No, I'm not." Bakura muttered just as quietly, as the half-open door was thrown the rest of the way open and a police officer, presumably the head one, stomped in.

"You." he said, pointing at Yami. "You've been here long enough."

"Can't I-" Yami began.

"No, you've already been here ten times longer than you're supposed to be, now move it."

"Just a few more minutes?" Yami asked.

"Look, this guy is a dangerous criminal, and we just let you in to shut you up. Now move yourself along."

To Bakura's surprise, Yami suddenly looked very angry, and got to his feet. Despite that the officer easily had at least a foot on him, Yami suddenly _seemed_ much larger. His eyes flashed as he snarled, "Bakura isn't a criminal!"

"Yami, what are you…?" Bakura hissed.

"He told us some sort of convoluted story about a secret society, and we heard him just now confessing to the five murders here recently. He didn't even tell us that part." The officer looked rather annoyed that it had been Yami who'd gotten the full story and not the officials.

"Yeah, and you heard the rest of his story, didn't you? The part about how they threatened to kill me if he didn't? Isn't there some sort of clause in criminal law about that?"

"If he were protecting his own life, there might be a clause in the law for it. But we don't even have any proof he was telling the truth. Give me one person that will stand up for him if this were a court."

"First of all, you haven't formally arrested him yet so you don't have the right to talk about him like that. Second, he WAS telling the truth, and if this were a court, _I'd_ stand up for him, and I wouldn't care _who_ I was facing, I'd stand up for him either way!"

"Yami…" Bakura suddenly felt a rush of gratitude. Yami wasn't angry after all...he believed his story.

By this time, Yami's yelling had attracted the attention of the others in the hall, and no less than seven official-looking people were watching the scene curiously.

"You can't treat him this way without due reason." Yami argued fiercely. "You heard what he was telling me just now, and there's enough to support that as there is to support that he's some sort of Egyptian terrorist trying to destroy America and Japan. You just want someone to blame, someone to show to the public and say, 'look, we caught the person responsible.', and you don't even care if he's innocent or not, you're going to put the blame on him without a second thought. Even though you've got no proof at all, you still guard his door and tell every person nearby that he's guilty. That's just sick!"

"Well, be as that may, _your_ testimony would not make any difference." One of the American FBI men said coolly in broken Japanese. "For all you know, that whole story he gave you was a lie as well."

"I was poisoned by _someone _from that 'secret society', and that should be proof! There's a doctor that will confirm it-"

"Maybe _he_ had you poisoned just to set up an alibi." The first officer said, pointing at the person in question. "Wouldn't put it past him-"

"No, that's not true, I'd never have poisoned him!" Bakura suddenly shouted. "Someone else maybe,but I'd never have done that to Yami-"

"Be quiet, your own testimony means nothing Bakura, you'll just make up lies. Now, Mr. Atemu, please leave."

"No, I'm not going to leave!" Yami stood his ground stubbornly. "I'm not going to let you accuse Bakura of things he's never done. You should be honouring him, he's saved a lot of people from getting killed by redirecting that laser! Just ask the American government, there were laser attacks there, that fits his story! Tell me why he'd purposely redirect the weapon if he wasn't trying to save them!"

"Look, no one's arrested him yet, you can get off your soapbox. We'll ask you one last time, please leave."

"Yami, just listen to them. It doesn't matter anymore." Bakura spoke up angrily. "They'll believe what they'd like to. And I don't want you to get in trouble with the law too."

"I don't care about that." Yami said. "I don't care if I get in trouble. I'm doing this for you, I'm doing this because this is what friends do for each other. You asked me why I was still here and why I hadn't given up on you, and that's my answer, even though I know you don't believe me. If I have to get in trouble to prove to you that I care about you, so be it."

_He cares about me… _Bakura fell silent.

"We gave him fair warning." One of the officers said quietly. The others seemed to agree, and without warning, the one nearest to Yami lunged at him, grabbing his arm.

"Let me go!" Yami snapped, struggling to get away from him.

Bakura took in the scene in an instant. "Hey, leave him alone, he wasn't doing anything wrong!"

"Failure to comply with an officer of the law, impediment of justice…"

"I don't give a damn about that, I want you to start treating Bakura with the respect he deserves, not like a criminal!" Yami's voice rose above theirs.

_I don't understand, why are you defending me like this? _Bakura asked silently as he watched them pin Yami's arms behind him and one of them shouted about how this was why they didn't allow visitors. _You could have just left, it wasn't any big deal. Now you're going to be in trouble, just because of me…after everything, how can you defend me so unconditionally?_

"Say good-bye to your friend, because you're not coming back to see him." The FBI agent snapped at Yami, who was currently being restrained by two of the police officers as they pulled him out the door. The former pharaoh stopped struggling and raised his head to meet Bakura's eyes again.

"Bakura, don't worry, we'll get this straightened out." Yami said, his voice firm, yet also oddly gentle. "I won't let them arrest you."

"You don't have to-" Bakura began. "This is my business-"

"I'm not defending you because I have to, I'm doing it because I want to."

"But why?"

Whatever Yami's reply might have been, Bakura didn't hear it because the door was slammed shut at that moment, and though he could hear Yami's shouts over the cries of others outside, he couldn't make out any of the words.

Eventually the voices faded away. Bakura found that he once again felt exhausted. The last few hours seemed even more unreal than ever. He could hardly believe everything that had happened…awakening to find that while unconscious and in surgery for his leg that he'd been accused of being a terrorist, seeing Yami, telling him the whole story, discovering that Yami didn't blame him after all, wasn't angry at him after all, then seeing Yami defend him so blatantly…it all swirled together in a mix of memories and emotions, many of which he'd prefer to forget. Squeezing his eyes shut, he enjoyed the feeling of making the room go dark, of blocking out the plain white walls, the police still standing outside the door, and of the reality of where he was. Yami was right, it wasn't fair at all, but that couldn't change anything.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

I realize that I referred to Yami as "Yami Mutou" back in chapter one, and now he's "Yami Atemu". This is explained by the fact that Yami's 'legal' name is Yami Atemu, and Bakura didn't know this. (See, Bakura was not aware that Yami had not taken Yugi's last name. To keep things simple, Yugi and Yami generally pretend to be brothers, you know, the similar looks and all, so Bakura assumed they used the same last name, and he wouldn't ever have a chance to know any different seeing that he and Yami never talked much.) That's why Bakura called him "Mutou" in chapter one, when it's supposed to be 'Atemu'.

Just when you thought they were home free! Now the justice system has turned on Bakura as well. Well, I told you we weren't without one last twist. Besides, a laser's been bouncing all over America and Japan, you think that was just going to be ignored by the government? This is much more realistic, and far more exciting too, than my originally planned ending. Though, I must question the common sense of this thing. I could have given this fic a nice happy ending: Yami finds Bakura, Bakura's story is believed and he's home free, Yami isn't mad at him, Bakura and Yami declare their undying love for each other, and everyone lives happily ever after. It would have been so _simple_.

But NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO-OOOOOO, that just can't be. It might be cute…but it's cliché. And there's been too many cliché stuffs in this fic so far.

Well, I hope you paid attention to the above chapter. (If you didn't, go back and read it again, and read it CAREFULLY.) It got a little random in some places. I think I crammed too much stuff in at once. But there was no real good breaking place, and so many things that had to happen…:sigh: Well, this chapter does contain some things setting up for future sl logic, so if you want the future sls to make sense, (as much sense as could be expected, given that I'm writing them), then please pay attention right now.

"_I'll never forgive you_": One of Yami's most famous and deadly lines in the manga and anime. Probably his second-scariest line you could hear from him if you made him mad. (The first being, "let's play a game".) If he's pissed off at you and says he'll never forgive you, you might as well accept the fact that you're going to be mind crushed, driven insane, or killed. And you better hope you just get killed, which he rarely granted you the kindness of. Since he doesn't have his millennium/shadow magic in this fic, his line isn't as scary as it would be, but it's still very significant. I just wanted to toss it in.

Replies!

You Know Us: Yeah…when there's a huge laser about to fry everyone, redirecting it is probably good. :wink: And yes…Yami was in it. I'm starting to become scared that if I was to even make him get a _papercut _that Michelle-chan will come fillet me. O.o Shocking! Shocking is good! That's the result I was after. I want to shock you.:smile: (And no way, I'm here to help on history tests, not hinder.) And you, my friend, know me too well. One day I'll kill off all the charrahs just to surprise you. xD I'm just kidding! I'm glad you're enjoying all the crazy stuff.

Una1: xD Yeah, you don't need my help. You're perfectly capable of it on your own. Syahaha…yeah…I put the series charrahs through a good deal, but when I'm creating a bad guy that everyone is going to hate, I create him, (or her), just to make them suffer. 'Tis great fun. :laughs: Nah, not Catholic…I'm…uh, there's a fancy name for it, but like, a self-taught religion, you know? One that a person makes up on their own? There's a name for it, but darned if I know what that is…:smacks herself: Damn, I feel like an idiot now. I went back and checked Janime's site and sure enough, he's five feet even. Turns out I made a mistake in my cm-feet conversions. Man, I…feel…stupid. Oh well. Because, it wouldn't be exciting if they didn't cut it close! xD Yeah…you know what would be really cool? A mute villain, so he or she couldn't rant.That'd be great for a humour story. :plots: You know, he probably doesn't. Yami's so…unassuming sometimes, I really don't think he knows he's gay till it slaps him in the face. Yeah…it's a cycle. It's predictable…but it's fun!

Hershey-Kiss: Oooh…I see. Hmmn…ah well, not important. You don't? Eee, I'm glad! I worry about predictability sometimes but you're right…there are some things that just never get 'old'. :claps: I'm so glad! Normally you're big on critiquing, so, believe it or not, I really care a lot about whether or not you liked whatever happened considering you're one of the biggest…uh…critiquers. I know there's a better word for that, I just can't think of it. Demn head cold. Oooh, Bakura being dead and staying dead _would _have been really crummy. Like the end of the book _1984_. That ending was so...bad. Just a whole load of a downer ending. KidsWB…I won't even give them the honour of going into what I thought of that line-up. --;

Sooo, I'm in a lot better mood now that WMM let me save my "I'd Do Anything" vid. Turns out there was a technical malfunction…WMM didn't like the order of these two scenes, so I switched them…it saved perfectly. Go figure. Yugioh is back on at its normal times, so my sanity has returned to a fairly balanced keel. (The sight of Yami in his sleeveless shirt may have helped…) Plus, only 23 more school days left this year:D It seems things are finally looking up for me, which is very very good.

Much love everyone, I'll see you all next week. :smile: Bai!


	19. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 19

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Nineteen:

Joey had gone over to Yugi's apartment the next afternoon to play duel monsters.

"Did you hear about the explosion in the woods last evening?" Yugi asked as he placed two cards face down.

"I saw it on the news." Joey replied, drawing and frowning at the card. "You hear anything about the cause?"

"No, you?"

"Nothing concrete, but I heard some crazy rumour about it being caused by a government laser that a terrorist got a hold of."

"No way!"

"I'm serious, wanna bet? I'll bet you 2000 yen. I could go buy some more curry rice."

"Okay, you're on." Yugi reached for the TV remote. "It's almost three o'clock, let's see if they have an update." He flipped it to a news station and nodded. "Yep, right on time. There's some pictures from the fire."

"…Firefighters have got the fire from last night's explosion tamed and as you can see from these aerial shots, an area with a radius of about two miles was burnt before they could extinguish the blaze. No homes were endangered, however the nearby town of Domino _was _issued a standby for evacuation late last night-"

"We were?" Joey asked blankly. "Gosh, good thing the fire stopped. I didn't hear nothing about a standby-"

"Probably you were asleep. Be quiet, they're talking about the explosion-"

"…While stories vary as to the cause of the explosion, which destroyed a privately-owned building whose owner's name is not able to be released at this time, police this afternoon confirmed that a satellite laser was found in orbit, and that the attack could likely be the work of a terrorist organization that struck the western side of the United States yesterday. For unknown reasons, the laser was then turned on the building, and remained there till it switched off. We now take you live to a satellite expert. Sir, can you tell us any more about this laser?"

"Well, it is very similar to an American design that was-"

"I _TOLD_ you! Hand it over-" Joey collected his winnings and turned his attention back to the game. "Boy, I'm glad that Mai is here right now, and not over there in America. I wonder what sort of terrorist organization it was?"

"Dunno…I guess if they'd arrested anyone, they'd have told us, and anyway, those kind of societies are really secretive, I doubt…_Bakura?"_

"Bakura?" Joey asked blankly, looking around the room. "Where?"

"There, on TV!" Yugi pointed wildly. Joey turned to see a full-color picture from Bakura's bus pass being displayed in the upper right corner of the screen as the newswoman went on, "While no arrests have been made yet in this case, this young man, Touzokuou Bakura, is the only known survivor of the incident, and is also the prime suspect. He is being questioned at this time."

"What the hell?" Joey yelped.

"Shut up, I'm trying to listen-"

"The police have informed us that while he is _not _officially in custody, inside resources report that Bakura, found running from the scene and whom is currently in Domino Hospital for multiple injuries sustained from the explosion, is the main and only suspect at this time. In a statement earlier this afternoon, Bakura told reporters only that he is not guilty of a planned attack, and that he considers himself to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He refused any other comment. A background check has shown no connection to any known terrorist groups, but police are investigating. In an interesting twist, Bakura _was_ overheard confessing to the five murders that Domino saw in the past few months-"

"Bakura's a terrorist _and_ the murderer?" Yugi asked in a daze. "What got into him? I never thought he'd go around shooting people for no reason."

"To hell with that, where'd he get a SATELLITE LASER?" Joey demanded. "I mean it's not like you can just go buy on one e-bay!...Can you?"

"And why attack America, Bakura's never even _been _to America." Yugi wondered aloud.

"That must be where he's been for the past couple a months!" Joey said triumphantly. "That's got to be it, he's been off trying to destroy the world again! I knew it, I _knew _we couldn't trust him…"

"We'd better call the others, they're going to want to hear about this…"

Two hours later, when Yami knocked on the door to Yugi's apartment, he was nearly bowled over by a group of people whom had gathered there to gawk at the news on his large-screen TV set, now all talking at once.

"Bakura-"

"-terrorism, if you can believe that-"

"Have you see the news?-"

"-He was the murderer also!"

"I knew we couldn't trust him…"

"-He's a terrorist! Man, I never would have guessed-"

Yami stared blankly at them, the group including all of his friends, for a moment. "Well…I guess you guys all already know, then."

Once they found out that Yami had been there and knew more about it than anyone else, they all settled down to listen to his story, and the room was very quiet for a few moments afterward.

"I don't believe it. You're sure he's telling the truth?"

"I know it."

"So…he was actually trying to _help _us…" Tea said slowly.

"So he's in jail now? He's okay though, right? Is he hurt very badly?" Mai asked.

"He wasn't actually arrested, not yet anyway, but they have guards all around his room and they're treating him as if he's guilty." Yami replied moodily. "The surgeon says his leg will be good as new if he takes care of himself, and his other injuries are healing fine, so far. I think mostly it's his pride that's been hurt. See, he thought he was finally doing the right thing. And truthfully he was, he saved a lot of Americans from being killed. But instead of receiving any sort of honour, he's being punished for it. I can see why he's so upset. And I think he's probably pretty scared too, there's no telling what's going to happen now. As long as he's in the hospital recovering, they can't do much, but after that…" He rested his chin in his hands. "I feel like this is my fault, he joined that group trying to protect me."

"Why would he want to protect you?" Tristan asked, looking quizzical. "I thought he hated you."

Yami hesitated. He hadn't exactly told them _why _Bakura was so keen on protecting him, because it wasn't the sort of thing he could find a way to explain, nor could he think of a way to explain how _he _himself felt about the way Bakura felt about him. It was all just very confusing and for some reason…he just wanted to keep it to himself for awhile.

"He changed his mind." He finally replied.

"Kinda amazing that after all that, he was actually trying to _help _people." Joey said. "Never thought I'd see the day Bakura put aside himself for someone else. Guess you were right Yami, he really has changed."

"Unless of course he made that stuff up." Tristan started to say.

"He wasn't lying!" Yami turned on him so fast that Tristan shrunk back in fear. "He was telling the truth, I know he was."

"How?" Tea asked.

"I could just tell. It was there in his face. I could tell he was trying to hide it, trying not to let it show, but I could just see it, he's so upset over not being believed, and he's scared. He would never admit it, but it showed, he's afraid of what's going to happen to him. He's never been to jail! I can't blame him, I'd be frightened too."

"I wish there was some way we could help clear his name." Yugi said quietly. "Even if we could just find some type of proof to help him…"

"The police here and the American FBI have already decided that he's guilty, they just haven't said it yet, but they've decided. It's obvious they don't want to gave him a chance to defend himself. Even if they give up the laser business, there's still the murders." Yami muttered. "They won't believe anything else because it's too easy to blame Bakura. He's not in the position to fight back. He said it himself, he's the perfect scapegoat for them. Apparently that laser completely destroyed the Compound, that was his name for the building,and there were no bodies found in the ruins, yet, so his story has no collaboration. Even if they do find any trace of someone else's body, it'll be hard to find enough of them to identify if they were Iyoku Issei or not."

"So there's nothing we can do." Mai said. "Nothing at all."

"Basically, yeah, that's it."

"This bites." Ryou scowled, and suddenly looked quite a bit like Bakura himself. "Maybe he was mean to us before but in the end, he saved us. If Japan had really gone to war, think about it, our lives would have been changed forever, and my yami sacrificed himself to prevent that. It's the first time he's ever done something like that, with a pure purpose in mind, and he's been accused of all these things…"

"That's the bottom line." Joey said. "It sure doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"Who said anything about fair!" Yami suddenly asked. "It doesn't 'SEEM' fair! Hell, it's NOT fair! It's not fair at all, why they have to target Bakura like this, just when he was starting to believe in himself!"

Everyone stared at Yami in surprise.

"Yami, are you keeping something from us?" Yugi asked. "I can understand you being upset, but I didn't think you'd be _this_ furious. I know he's your friend, but you guys WERE always rivals foremost."

Yami fell silent and refused to answer.

Tristan picked up a newspaper lying on the table and flipped through it. He was quiet for a little while, then suddenly asked,

"Yami, is this today's paper?"

Yami glanced at it and caught the picture of the fire on the front. "Yeah, why?"

Tristan slapped it down in front of Yami. "Then check this out."

"A super-sale on lawnmowers?" Yami asked, puzzled, studying the full-color ad. "Tristan, you don't have a lawn-"

"Not that, _that._" Tristan pointed to a small caption to the right of the ad. "It's a short little thingabout a guy that's been missing for over a year and just showed up at his house late last evening. He says he has amnesia. But get this, he used to be a computer programmer."

"Do you think…?" Mai began.

"Maybe he worked at the Compound too?" Yugi finished for her.

Yami stared at the paper and stood up. "What is there to lose? If we can find just one other person that'll verify Bakura's story, it could make all the difference. Let's go pay him a visit."

* * *

_I wonder what exactly the government does with terrorists. _Bakura was lying in his hospital bed, twirling a CD around his finger, watching it toss rainbows on the ceiling when it caught the light. _I never thought much about it. I guess it's safe to say they don't get many luxuries. Or firearms…I miss my Uzi, I wonder whatever happened to it…I ought to have asked Yami. I bet he'd take care of it for me. I hope I have a chance to ask him about that someday. I really don't want it getting sold to some idiot in a second-hand gun shop. _

He picked up a second CD from the small stack he had resting on his chest, and began twirling it with his other hand. It was a mindless activity, but it was better than laying there, doing nothing. Jared had sent the CDs to him that morning to keep him entertained. He appreciated the gesture.

_I wonder how long it'll take them to finally officially arrest me. I wish they'd just get it over with. Anything would be better than this constant waiting. Being treated like a criminal bites, the least they could do is decide I'm guilty and have it over with. _

In his anger, he tossed the CD in his left had across the room, where it hit the wall and clattered across the linoleum on the floor. Immediately he regretted doing that, since now he was unable to fetch it, and it had some good songs on it. With a sigh, he slid the pile of CDs and his CD player off his bed and onto the table beside it, upon which was propped a lone "get well" card, sent to him by Yami. After having been inspected inside and out and found to be harmless, it had been given to him by a nurse only a few hours before. It wasn't much, a simple picture of some type of flowers with a get-well wish inscribed inside. Yet, it made him feel a little better.

* * *

The young woman standing in the doorway looked extremely surprised to see a large group of teenagers standing on her doorstep.

"Can I help you?"

"We need to talk to your husband." Yami stepped forward. "We need to ask him about where he's been."

"My husband has amnesia, and he can't talk to any morereporters right now." She replied quickly, starting to close the door. Yami caught it.

"We're not reporters." He said. "And this is a matter of life or death, we _need _to talk to him. Just five minutes. Please."

She gave them a suspicious look, but stepped out of the way. They filed inside and she vanished into another room, returning with a young-ish looking man, the same one that Bakura had held back at the Compound, but of course they didn't know that. "These people said they need to talk to you." She told him.

"I'll make this quick." Yami began. "I need you to tell us where you've been for the past year."

"I can't remember." He said, in what sounded like a clearly-memorized speech. "The last I can remember, I was going off to work as normal one morning, and then the other day I found myself standing on the doorstep here."

"Well, if you remember all that, then you must know where you've been!"

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"Were you programming a satellite for a man named Iyoku Issei so that he could start up a new World War? Do you remember that?"

The man looked startled for a moment, then shook his head. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Yami slammed his palms down on the table and stood up. "Look man, my friend is currently taking the heat for this whole thing, and none of the police believe his story. We need to find someone to back him up before he gets arrested for it."

"Well, I'm afraid I can't." He started to get up. Yami grabbed the front of his shirt and snapped,

"You can too, and you WILL. I know as well as you do where you've been, and there's no way in heck you're getting away without helping my friend out, got it? You're going to verify his story, and clear his name."

The man looked terrified. "Did the boss send you here?" He asked, voice cracking. "Are you assassins?"

"Boss?" Mai asked.

"The "boss" is dead!" Yami snarled. "We don't work for him! We're working against him if anything. He was killed when my friend Bakura, the one that's being blamed for this mess, demolished the building. You must have known him while you were there, you have to tell the police that he's telling the truth."

"Bakura?" the man asked, glancing around. "I-I don't know who-"

"Bakura, BAKURA, how can you not remember a name like that!" Yami shouted, fed up. "He's got brown eyes, spiky white hair, about yey-tall, carries an Uzi around like it's his baby, has no respect for authority, HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT KNOW WHO HE IS!"

"I-I-Look, I don't want to have anything more to do with that place…" The man whispered.

"So, you do know what I'm talking about!" Yami tightened his grip to the point that his victim was practically choking.

"Yami, you can let him go." Tea said quietly. "He can't help us if you choke him to death."

"Right…sorry." Yami said shortly, dropping him and retreating to the chair he'd been sitting in. "Look, I can understand your not wanting to be involved in this anymore, but wouldn't it be worth it if you kept an innocent person from being arrested? All you have to do is tell your story to the police, and if we can find any of the other people there…so many similar stories, they'll have to accept that Bakura was telling the truth."

The man looked a bit shaky. "Well…I guess I could…I knew a few of the other guys' names, I could try to look them up, if they haven't gone into hiding too…"

"Thank you." Yami said, before he could change his mind. "You won't regret it."

"But I don't want my name made public." He added.

"I'm sure that it'll be kept private." Tristan said helpfully. "The government is all secret like that."

They all left the house feeling as though they'd accomplished something big, something worth doing. Yet, Yami was oddly quiet.

"Yami, what's wrong?" Ryou asked. "We found someone to verify Bakura's story, why don't you cheer up?"

Yami shook his head. "What? Oh-no, I'm really glad we found him. Tristan, thanks for noticing that in the paper."

"No prob."

"Then why don't you look happier about it?" Yugi asked.

Yami shrugged and once more refused to answer their questions.

* * *

Bakura stared at the shadow from the lamp on the wall and then over at the door. Outside, he could see the silhouettes of two guards. They claimed not to be assuming anything, and yet they were acting exactly as if he were guilty. He'd asked them earlier and knew that they weren't allowing any visitors to come see him. He wished there was some way he could get hold of Yami. He'd thought about it for a long time while lying in bed, and the sort of future he foresaw for himself wasn't pretty. After arrest it'd be off to jail, and then to trial. He knew what the verdict would be, the head of the law enforcement office seemed to have it in for him and Bakura knew he wouldn't be leaving any courthouse an innocent man. And after that…if they could find terrorism involved, then for all he knew he'd be shipped off to America to be tried there and then, most likely, executed. And though he'd told Yami that he loved him, there were a few more things he wanted to say before he got killed. He just hadn't figured out how to put them into words yet.

Even if that didn't happen, and they only found him guilty for the murders, the likelihood that he'd ever be released was slim to none. The idea of being stuck in a jail for the rest of his life made him feel sick. Nothing to look forward to except crappy food and the occasional jail fight. Nothing to look _at_ except four walls and barred windows and doors with heavy locks. Being locked up was not something he took lightly.

_They've already decided I'm guilty. Might as well plant evidence and make it easier on themselves._

He scowled. Death would be better than sitting in a jail for the rest of his life. And it was definitely preferable to never seeing Yami again. His eyes fell on the pile of CDs and he picked one up, studying it, then reached for the pad of paper and pencil resting on the desk. Well…if it were between death and being arrested for murder, if not terrorism…

* * *

"Yami, something's up with you, and I want to know what it is." Yugi had cornered him back in his apartment. Everyone had split up after their meeting, but Yugi had followed him home, determined to get the whole story. His quick-thinking mind, excellent when it came to games and puzzles, had picked up right away on Yami's odd behavior, and he knew something was wrong.

"There's nothing wrong." Yami insisted, turning on the radio.

"Yes there is." Yugi argued back, turning the radio off just as quickly.

They stared at each other for a few moments. Then: "It's no big deal."

"It's making you act funny, whatever it is. I get the feeling that we didn't get the whole story before, did we?"

"What-what do you mean?" Yami blinked, innocently he hoped.

"You're hiding something. Something about this story you're keeping secret and I want to know why."

"Fine, fine." Yami folded his arms. "Bakura told me why he was protecting me."

"Why was he?"

"He said he was doing it because he loved me."

Yami was expecting Yugi to go on to asking why the heck it was Yami that Bakura loved, of all people, but instead Yugi's eyes suddenly dawned comprehension and he seemed to be holding back a smile as he said,

"And you love him too, don't you? That's why you're being so militant about this. You're upset because those police are keeping you two apart!"

"No!" Yami looked away, his cheeks turning red. "No, that's not it at all-"

"Oh look, you're blushing, that means I must be right." Yugi looked pleased with himself. "Well, this explains a lot that I was confused about before."

"No-I mean, it's not completely like that." Yami struggled to explain. "I just-I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Bakura, okay? I'm still figuring it out. So…don't go telling anyone else about this, alright?"

"Okay, but why? At the very least you know that you care about him-I didn't say 'love'-but you definitely care about him. You can't deny that, it's obvious in your face."

"Is it that clear?" Yami asked, surprised.

"Crystal. So, why can't I tell the others?"

"Because this is a delicate situation." Yami replied quickly, his poise clearly ruffled. "And I don't want Joey singing that stupid "kissing in a tree" song that he picked up from Mai. I saw how he acted when you and Tea began dating."

"Now you're trying to change the subject. So you care about Bakura, and alright, I can see why you don't want Joey knowing. But there's no reason to hold that back from Bakura himself. What he needs right now, more than anything else, is all the support you can give him. Letting him know you return the feelings-even just a little-would help him a lot."

"You think so?" Yami perked up, then he looked depressed again. "But the police won't let me go see him, they're acting like I'm his accomplice or something. There's no _way_ I'd be able to get into the hospital to visit him, I'm clearly not welcome-"

The phone rang and Yami cut himself off. Yugi picked it up.

"Hello…yes, he's here…he what? No…of course, I'll tell him. Right. Thank you." He hung up.

"Who was that?" Yami asked, looking up in time to see Yugi turn back toward him, his face pale. "Yugi? What's wrong?"

"They-they want you at the hospital. That was a nurse in the psychiatric ward…Bakura's just tried to commit suicide."

* * *

_As if he didn't need to look guiltier than he already does! _Yami slammed the door to his car in the parking lot and sprinted toward the hospital doors. _Just when we were finally starting to get someplace, he has to go and try to kill himself! That idiot, what was he thinking…?_

"Where's Bakura?" he thundered, storming into the main room of the hospital, causing two small girls playing on the floor to skitter away from him towards their parents in fear.

A nurse seemed to have been waiting for him, because she popped up immediately and motioned. "This way." Leading him down the hall, she began, "He tried to slit his wrists with the broken halves of a compact disk, and it was effective. It was a good thing the guards saw him or who knows what might have happened. He wrote us this note." She held out a folded piece of paper. Yami snatched it and read:

_Here's a question. What's the difference between dying in a jail someplace because I was accused of something I didn't do, or killing myself? The difference is that the second choice means that I win. You won't give me a chance to defend myself, you're all treating me like crap, and worst of all, you won't let the one person that believes me come visit me. Yami's all I ever had to live for, and you cut that out too. My life is pointless. Far as I'm concerned, death seems like a far better choice. So, I win._

"Your name was in it, so we decided to call you." She finished. "The police didn't want me to, but it seemed best."

Yami crumpled the paper in his fist. "Well he's going to be wishing he WAS dead once I get a hold of that idiot." He raged. "He's going to regret being such a dunderhead…"

But once Yami reached the room in the psychiatric ward where Bakura was now, his verbal assault he had planned for him vanished from his mind. Bakura was lying on the cot, both arms swathed now in bandages, eyes half-closed as he stared at the ceiling. It struck Yami just how lost he looked. Somehow it was a very sad scene.

"Bakura!" he called, running toward him. Bakura lifted his head at the sound and his eyes widened.

"Yami…they let you in?"

"Bakura, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He said with a small smile. "Compared with the car, this is nothing."

Yami suddenly frowned and slapped him across the face.

"Ow! Man, don't you think I'm hurt enough?" Bakura asked, wincing.

"You idiot, what were you thinking? Trying to kill yourself, that was a ridiculous, childish, and stupid thing to do!" Yami yelled. "Tell me Bakura, what the hell WERE YOU THINKING!"

"I thought that if I left that note, it would make them let you come see me." Bakura replied. "And see? It worked. Besides…anything is better than being shipped off to jail."

The expression on Yami's face changed from anger to confusion to one of mixed pain and frustration.

"Bakura, there are other ways of getting to see me! I'm sure you could have come up with something else. What if you had succeeded? What if no one found you and you'd died!"

"It wouldn't really matter." Bakura said dully. "No one would care. They'd probably be happy, since now everyone would be spared the trial issue and all. I'm a murderer, Yami. No one cares about what happens to people like me. And my insurance company would be happy, they wouldn't have to keep paying my bills. It's not like I'd be missed."

Yami bit his lip. Bakura sounded so unlike his usual self. It was like his spirit was missing. "Of course it would have mattered. There're people that care about you-"

"Who?" Bakura shot. "Tell me Yami, give me the name of one person that would mourn me if I died."

Yami faltered. "Ah-"

"See, no one." He spit angrily. "I told you, no one would care. I wish they would have just let me die. I wish they would have left me alone and just let me die." He glanced down at his wrists and Yami saw, for a split second, Bakura's lower lip wobble, as if he were about to cry.

The nameless feeling in Yami's chest deepened. "Bakura, none of that is true. _I_ would have cared. It would have mattered to me." He said, kneeling down. "It would have mattered a lot to me. If you died, I'd…I'd really miss you. I'd-well…it was a really stupid thing of you to do. I know all this is hard on you, and you're scared, but-"

"I am NOT scared!" Bakura objected.

Yami let it slide. "Fine, you're not. But killing yourself is not going to help! You're just lucky your little plan worked out with yourself still alive. Now what was so important that you put all this together just so you could talk to me?"

Bakura lowered his voice to less than a whisper. "Where's the Uzi?"

Yami furrowed his brow. "Uh…Jared has it. And those two little guns of yours too."

"Oh, good, Jared will take care of them. He takes good care of his guns, he's told me he has a nice glass cabinet and-"

"Bakura, would you please get to the point?" Yami asked in exasperation.

"That is the point." Bakura replied. "Look, I want you to thank Jared for taking care of them, and I want you to have them, okay? Now, remember to polish the Uzi twice a week-"

"Bakura, what are you talking about?"

"Sooner or later they'll tote me off to the prison, and-"

"They've arrested you?"

"No, not yet, but it's only a matter of time Yami. So, about the Uzi, there's this special brand of polish that-"

"Bakura, why are you telling me all this?"

Bakura looked somewhat disgruntled that Yami hadn't figured it out yet. "I told you, I want you to have the Uzi. All the other stuff to my name has been thrown out by that idiot of an apartment manager I used to have, and my other belongings were in the Compound, but it blew up. I…I just want you to have something of mine, that's all. To say thank you for believing me, something you can remember me by. After I'm in jail or killed or whatever they're going to do…I just want to give you something that was special to me. That's all."

"But, but you don't need to give the Uzi to me Bakura, because you're going to show them all that you're not a terrorist, and not a murderer, that this is all a mistake, and you're innocent. And then you can have your gun back." Yami said, shaking his head.

"Look Yami, let's not lie. The likelihood of that is slim to none. If they ignore the terrorism business, they'll still put me in jail for murder. If they pin the laser on me too, the American government will be involved too, and I'll be executed eventually. I want you to have the Uzi. I know you'll take good care of it, all right?"

"No, no it's not all right!" Yami shook his head even more furiously. "These ideas of yours are not all right at all! I'm not going to stand here and let you give up, and I'm not letting Issei's screwed-up plan make you go to jail! I'll do whatever it takes Bakura, I'm going to get you out of here and I won't let anyone lock you up in jail, do you hear me? I'll do whatever it takes, no matter how tough it'll get, no matter what anyone says, I'll do whatever I have to, Bakura. I won't let anyone hurt you like that."

Bakura stared in surprise at Yami, who now drew himself to his full five feet, and swung his arm toward the door. "Me and the others, we've found one of the guys that worked at the Compound. He's going to try to find others and we're going to prove that you were telling the truth. And you'll be free, so I don't want to hear any more of these ridiculous notions about you going off to jail, or to America to be executed, and I never want to get another phone call saying you tried to kill yourself, got it? Don't do anything elsestupid like that."

Bakura nodded. "Okay Yami…I got it, I got it."

Yami's expression softened. "I'm sorry I slapped you."

"Aw, it's okay. I probably needed it." Bakura smirked. "Everyone needs a good slap now and then to keep their heads on straight."

"Well..." Yami paused before beginning again, "Well, Bakura, there's sort of something else I want to tell you too."

"What's that?"

"Well, the reason why I'm helping you, the reason why I want to clear your name and why I did all that stuff for you that you were confused about. Remember? You asked me why I helped you?"

"I remember."

"Yeah, that, well…the reason why I did all that…it's because-"

He was cut short at that moment by the door to the ward flying open as three police and two American FBI agents walked in. The police officer in front gave Yami a dirty look. It was the same detective, the one that Yami had nearly gotten into a fight with the last time. Ignoring this spiky-haired bystander, the officer thrust a badge out in front of Bakura's face and announced,

"Touzokuou Bakura, you are under arrest."

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Awright, I want to apologize for the late-ness again…it's very mean of me to make y'all wait when something interesting is finally going on, and I'm afraid the next chapters may be late was well due to that I'm finding myself up against a writer's block. I know where I am and where I want this to go, but darned if I can find a way to get it there, and my last resort idea is sort of weird so I don't want to use it. So, please, forgive my late-ness, and understand that I'm trying to do what I can to keep this running smooth.

And now…drum roll please…My review count is officially over 400, (It went over 400 last chapter actually…I just forgot to count. I'm sorry!), and the person that sent my infamous 400th review, was…Una-chan! Congrats, and thanks to everyone for helping me make it to this point! First time I posted a fic here, I was elated when I got my _first_ review. I thought it was the most freaking awesome thing ever. Never thought I'd get to 400, and I owe it all to you guys. You're the best!

I often reveal spoilers to future chapters in these, in case you haven't noticed by now. So maybe it'd be best if you didn't pay too much attention, ne? xD Whateva.

Curry Rice and Joey: If you didn't already know, curry rice is Joey's favourite food. It's a type of Japanese fast food, and so therefore he could buy a nice amount of it with 2000 yen. (About nineteen dollars.)

Yami's height: Turns out, after re-evaluating my centimeters-to-feet conversions, (I'm blamin' my calculator and pure idiocy for that one…), that Yugi is indeed only 5 feet tall. (Kawaii little bugger, ain't he? I just wanna hug him…A boy that's actually shorter than me. :niko: Who would've guessed!) I know that Yami is five inches taller than Yugi in the anime. But because I like to go by the manga's calculations, (which started with Yugi and Yami being the same height), I put Yami at five-feet too. This is very amusing seeing that Bakura is like, almost a foot taller, and thus the idea of Yami comforting Bakura is somewhat comical…but whatever.Anyhoo, five feet it is. He's so tiny! I wanna hug him too…tiny people are very huggable.

This chapter was very…interesting…to write. Once again, I think I crammed too much stuff in at once. Gosh, when will I learn? Probably never. So, anyway…Bakura's continuing to 'decompensate', (which is psychologist lingo for "lose it"), and has tried to kill himself of all things. Ooh, and BTW, the broken edges of CDs can be quite sharp, and thus, one _could_ cut themselves. Not that I've really tried it, but I _did _get a decent papercut-like injury off one on accident one time, (I suggest not trying it for yourself, it's rather painful. Have you ever accidentally sliced your finger with a razor? Feels like that.), so I can imagine it's possible. Yami's trying to get him to cheer up and also clear his name, and then those freaking police have to interrupt what might have been a nice sappy romantic scene…to put Bakura under arrest. As if he wasn't decompensated enough. But anyhoo, the next chapter will be Chapter TWENTY, (this will be the first time I have ever written a chapter number starting with a 2 before…). I'm very surprised at how this fic took off. All the way to chapter twenty…pretty cool, really.

Yami says he'll do whatever it'll take. Pay attention to this line, for it is very very important. We'll find out just how much he meant it.

I'm pretty sure they have capital punishment in Japan, but, realistically, the American government _would _probably be the people to take care of such things since it was their country that got zapped. (The death toll is quite high after all.) So, yeah, that's why he was talking about getting taken to America. Not like Bakura knows any more about howthe government works than I do.

Replies!

Hershey-Kiss: Yeah, I'm serious! You're my best critic, (yeah…that was the word all right.), so getting a compliment from you must mean I've done something right. I like Yami's quiet intensity…there is something very cool about it. …Well, and the fact that if _I_ tried to tell someone I wouldn't forgive them, they would just laugh, so I'm also rather jealous of his power over words…Okay, and dude, either you're hacking into my computer and reading the chapters before they are posted, or you just know me too well. Whichever way, you still predicted how this would open. xD

You Know Us: You want another long chapter? You got one this time around. The latter chapters in this fic are all fairly long, actually…seriously, he would be very handy to have on your side! xD Yeah, love is wonderful…even when it involves all this crazy stuff. Heh, Yami is community property anyway. He belongs to all the fangirls and he belongs to Bakura and he belongs to anyone else that anyone can pair him up with…I just adore cuteness, I'm glad you are both enjoying it as well! As for those police…they sure could use a good mind crush…or seven. Too bad Yami doesn't possess the power to do so anymore. Well, surely someone's gonna do something. We'll have to wait and find out!

Well…hmmn, I dunno what else to write down here today. Lessie…I got manga yesterday! Woot! This cheers me up. Oh, and dude, only SEVENTEEN more school days left! For this I am truly grateful. We're watching Pearl Harbour in my History class.We saw the end today...it's so SAD. I was crying so hard at the end. But so was everyone else.Tell me, how much of a coincidence is it that we're studying WWII right when I'm writing this fic, huh? I didn't plan this, honestly I didn't. Plus, my cramps have thankfully left me alone finally. You know, things seem much less stressful when pain isn't in the picture.

I'll see you next week, my loves. Bai!


	20. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 20

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Twenty

Two hours later Bakura had shouted himself hoarse and still he had not succeeded in getting a straight answer about why he was being arrested. He couldn't understand anything the Americans were saying, and the police appeared to be taking great pleasure in leaving him in the dark. To make matters only worse, Yami had been ordered to leave and not return. Now that Bakura was officially under arrest, no visitors were permitted. Though, Yami certainly hadn't let himself be kicked out without a fight-the wallpaper now sported long scratches where he had thrown a chair against it. Bakura thought it a miracle that Yami hadn't been arrested too.

One of Bakura's bandaged wrists was now cuffed to the bed itself, as if he were going to be getting up and running away. The number of guards outside the room, (he was now set up in the criminal section of the hospital and once more was back in a private room), had doubled in the past hour. His voice was now a dull rasp due to yelling too much, and his throat felt as though he had been swallowing glass splinters. As far as days went, he concluded, this one was by far one of the worst.

Yami, meanwhile, had returned to his car and done a good bit of shouting himself, finally driving home with a fog of angry tears in his eyes, and he was surprised to make it back without getting in a crash. Once there, he called up the computer programmer, whose name had turned out to be Tomoya, though he preferred to go by Tom.

"Yami? I'm surprised to hear from you so soon. It's only been a few hours, I'm afraid I haven't tried to find the others yet-"

"Screw that Tom, we don't have time." Yami snapped. "Bakura's been arrested. You have to go down to the police station now and tell them your story. We don't have any time to lose."

The other end of the line went dead. Then, "Well…actually Yami-"

"You're not having second thoughts, are you?" Yami asked, warning ringing in every syllable.

"No, it's just, after you left, I remembered something else…I wasn't going to mention it because it's really risky, but now that Bakura's been arrested…well, it's worth a try."

"What? What is it?"

"Well, the boss, I mean, Issei…he once told me about a secret bunker of his."

"Secret bunker?"

"Yeah, a place he was planning to go if things got hairy, or when the war began. Apparently it was set up so that he could run the laser and access headquarters' computer system from a remote location, just in case. He was a careful guy, if nothing else, and he once told me about it. He said that if worst came to worst, the other programmers and I would have to come with him to the bunker and program the satellite from there. There might be evidence there. The problem is, we might get arrested too if we show it to the police, they might think we were in on the plan as well."

Now it was Yami that was silent for a long time. When Tom mentioned the chance of them being blamed for the attacks, he'd gotten an idea.

"Wait, I have a better plan." He said. "What if we go to that bunker, is there a chance we might still be able to use the laser from the computer system there?"

"Well, maybe, if the system wasn't knocked out when headquarters was destroyed…why?"

"And how accurate is the laser?"

"Well, if we'd had a chance to finish perfecting it, the technology itself is accurate enough to make that thing drill an inch-wide circle on a tile and not harm anything around it. It's advanced enough for that, but like I said, we didn't finish perfecting it-"

"Perfect, this is perfect…"

"What's perfect?"

"Listen, Tom, I've got an idea." Yami said, feeling excited. "I think I know how we can, at least, clear Bakura of this terrorism business."

"How's that?"

"With that bunker. See, if we can use the computer system there to access the laser, we could target it someplace. I don't know where, but if it's that accurate, we could probably do it without hurting anyone. You could figure it out. Aim it at a nice deserted moor in England or something. If the government sees that Bakura is locked up in the hospital and was incapable of shooting the laser off, then they'll _know _it couldn't be him. They'll think they got the wrong person, and they'll let him go."

"That's great, but of course they could always just say that he had an accomplice."

"Oh come on, one look at that defiant attitude of his and they'll know he couldn't have an accomplice. Bakura can't work with someone without eventually driving them insane. He's a do-it-yourselfer. The idea of him using an accomplice for anything is laughable."

"Well, also, we could easily get caught. They could trace the program. They might have even already disabled the satellite for all I know. And anyway, Bakura's probably still going to be put in jail for the murders, since he sort of confessed to those. And then there's-"

"Okay, so there's some holes." Yami muttered, irritated. "That's no reason why the plan still couldn't work with just a few adjustments. This is Bakura's life we're talking about here. As soon as he's healthy enough to leave the hospital, and gets taken to the jail, they'll have their claws in him and they'll never let him go. We have to act now. There's no time to worry about anything else. What do we have to lose?"

"Just about everything." Tom muttered.

"You pessimist. Fine, then we'll decide on a plan later. Now tell me where the bunker is."

"I'd love to, except…I'm not really sure."

"WHAT!"

"It's someplace in the mountains, I think it was pretty close to the Compound…but I could be wrong, I mean, he never gave us an exact location or anything…"

"Well, then we'll just have to comb the mountains till we find it." Yami said stubbornly. "I'll call all my friends, we'll split up and look tomorrow. And we won't stop until we've found it."

"I have to go to work, I got a new job-"

"Tell me." Yami interrupted, his voice returning to its warning growl. "What's more important? Your job, or getting Bakura free?"

Tom was no fool. Quickly he replied, "Bakura's life, definitely. I'll be there tomorrow morning."

……………………

The next morning at nine, sure enough, everyone was assembled around the remains of the Compound. The ruins themselves were taped off, and Ryou mentioned what if the laser destroyed the bunker too, but Tom assured them that Issei was smart enough not to put the shelter right beside the building. They split up, each chose a different direction, and began their search. By midday they had found nothing and Yami was in a bad temper again. He knew they only had limited time, and he knew how dangerous, and rather undependable, his plan was, he didn't need anyone reminding him of it.

Fed up with things not working out, Yami kept walking instead of turning back on his fourth trip around. He didn't feel like returning to the ruins to see the others sitting there, looking tired. Yugi had promised to keep it a secret as to why his other self was driving them up the walls, so none of them knew what it was that fueled Yami's desire to see Bakura freed. He had already lost his temper once and shouted at them, asking if they cared about Bakura at all and if they didn't, they should just go home. Although yelling for the moment had made him feel better, he only felt worse now. It wasn't their fault.

He knew he must be a few miles from the Compound by this time. The woods closed in around him, dark even though it was the middle of the day. The back of his neck was sticky with sweat from the heat. Tripping over a tree root, he cursed and sat down to rub his ankle.

_We've searched all over this place. _He thought, looking around. _The bunker could be anywhere. It might not even be here. Maybe this was all a wild-goose chase. It sounded so easy when I thought of it, but now…Poor Bakura, I told him I'd clear his name._

He sighed, resting his head in his hands. _After everything he did to keep me from getting hurt…when I didn't even know it…I'm going to let him down. I can't believe this. What's going to happen to him now? Eventually his wounds will heal, and he'll go to jail. He'll be found guilty if no one will back him up, and who knows what the sentence will be? I may never see him again. I'll never be able to tell him why I helped him, he'll never get to know, he'll be locked up in jail for something that wasn't his fault, and he'll never get to know that he's cared about.Dammit…_

Hiding his face in his arms he could feel his hands shaking. _I can't believe there's nothing I can do for him…It's not fair, after everything he had to go through, they shouldn't be doing this to him. It's not fair!_

Blinded by tears, he kicked the tree root he'd tripped over, and heard it clank. Almost immediately he stopped crying and got down on his hands and knees. Tree roots weren't supposed to clank. And indeed, the object he had mistaken for a root was actually a rusty circle of metal, buried deep in the rotting leaves. Digging feverishly into the dirt, he tried to clear the area around the ring, then got up and brought his foot down as hard as possible. Instead of sinking into the dirt, he heard a dull thump. There was something hard beneath that ring. Getting on the opposite side, he grabbed the circle of metal and pulled with all his strength. At first nothing happened, and bits of rust merely embedded themselves into his palm. Then with a heavy grating sound, the ground in front of him rose up with the ring. Dirt and leaves slid off, revealing a rectangle of metal about four feet long and three feet wide. Wedging his aching fingers under the metal, he pulled up again and heard two small snaps. Suddenly the piece of metal lifted more easily, its hinges having broken. He pushed it aside, and stared in silence at what he'd uncovered. A dark hole leading down into the earth. His heart leapt.

* * *

"Yami's been gone an awfully long time." Mai said to the others after awhile. "Do you think he's lost?"

"No, he's probably just hiding." Tristan replied. "Probably doesn't want to come back here."

"I feel sorry for Yami." Yugi said. "He's having a tough time of it, what with Bakura being arrested and in the hospital to boot, and Yami can't do a single thing about it."

"I can't blame him for wandering off and not wanting to come back in a hurry." said Ryou.

"He just needs some alone time." Joey agreed. "Though I'm confused about why he's taking this so badly, I mean, he always hated Bakura…"

Yugi wondered if he should say anything. It wasn't his secret to tell, but it would sure clear things up for the others. Finally he couldn't hold it back and began,"See, Yami-"

"Hey!"

Yugi cut himself off in surprise. He could have sworn he heard Yami's voice. Maybe it was his guilty conscience, yelling at him for having been about to tell them Yami's not-so-secret secret.

"You guys!" There it was again. Yugi shook his head, then noticed everyone else was looking around too. At that moment, Yami came bursting through the trees and stumbled to a halt. "You guys, you'll never believe it, I found the bunker! Who has the flashlight? Come on, I'll lead the way." He turned to dash off again.

The others all glanced at each other. Yami turned back. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Getting to their feet, they all followed.

* * *

"I don't believe it, there was a secret bunker after all." Tom said in awe as he peered down into the dark hole. Joey flicked the flashlight on and took a step forward.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's explore."

"Wait!" Yami flung his arm out and caught Joey's chest. "Don't touch anything, we can't leave our fingerprints. Just shine the light inside from here."

Joey complied and they all gathered around the opening as best they could.

"I see a lot of food supplies." Ryou observed.

"I think that's a generator and gasoline." Tea added, pointing to dark shapes in the corner.

"Here's one of those one-way oxygen things." Tristan said, examining the opening. "Guess he'd need this to breathe."

"Not a bad set-up." Yugi said. "A person could live down here for quite a while it looks like."

"None of that matters, do you see anything that resembles a computer?" Yami asked. Tom sat down and vaulted himself down into the pit.

"Tomoya, What are you doing?" Mai asked.

"I told you to call me Tom!" His voice echoed up from the inside. "There's a second room here…"

He was silent for awhile, then reappeared at the opening. The others helped him out.

"Well?" Yami asked.

"I found the computer." He said. Yami brightened.

"That's great, so we can use it?"

Tom shook his head. "It's just an average PC though. It doesn't have nearly enough power to control, much less perfect, a laser. I don't know what Issei what he was planning to use the computer for down there. There's no internet hook-up, so it's essentially useless for us. I'm sorry Yami, your plan was a good one but…it won't work. I guess all we can do now is just show this to the police, and-" he trailed off.

Yami silently turned and walked away. A few of the group got up to follow him, but Yugi spoke up,

"Let him go."

"Why? He might need us."

"No, he doesn't." Yugi shook his head. "We should leave him alone. Give him time to feel sorry for himself and Bakura in peace. See, after everything is said and done, Bakura really loves Yami and that's why he did everything to protect him. Yami told me that he isn't really sure how he feels about Bakura yet, but…I think he loves him too. And I think that Yami might have had this dream, you know? A dream that he'd clear Bakura's name and they'd be able to start over. We should give Yami time to let go of his dream on his own."

Joey blinked. "That's deep."

"So, I guess we should go talk to the police now?" Mai asked.

Tom shrugged and closed up the hatch, covering it back over with debris. "Might as well. We can tell them my story anyway."

"What about this place?" Tea asked.

"Let's not. They could probably find a way to use this as evidence against him."

* * *

_It was a good plan, too! _Yami thought angrily as he clambered over fallen branches. _It was a perfectly good plan, it would have cleared Bakura's name one-two-three, all the evidence would have been there, but nooo-oo, the goddamn computer system isn't set up to handle a laser! My idea was completely valid, it made sense and it would have worked and no one would have gotten hurt. Showing the bunker to the police won't do any good at all, they'll probably just say that someone else set the place up. I can't believe a dead guy's twisted plan is messing up our lives like this!_

He stopped and looked around, having found himself back out on the road. He didn't much feel like turning around and going back to the bunker, so he began following the road back toward the city.

_Well…I guess even if it had worked, and even if there was a way to control the laser…it might not have freed Bakura. _He was forced to admit as he stepped out onto a busy corner of the city and waited for the light to change. _I think they mostly arrested him because they recorded the story he told me about the murders, and they have a confession, if that could be considered a confession. It was lucky that Jared stole Bakura's guns from the scene before the police could confiscate them, if they'd done a ballistics test they would have found that the bullets were from the same gun, and then there'd be no way to disprove it. Even if he was cleared of the terrorism business, there's still those murders. And no one will believe that he had a good reason._

Walking home in a fog, he finally arrived and dialed up Jared's number, and asked if he could bring the Uzi over.

"Sure, why?" Jared asked, puzzled.

"Bakura's been arrested." He replied heavily.

"What!"

"He's been arrested." Yami repeated. "He's still in the hospital, but he's in custody. The other day he told me that he wanted me to have his gun. Said he knew I'd take good care of it." Yami could hear his own voice growing more and more high-pitched. "I'd just like to…do what he told me."

"Sure, I'll hop in the truck right now and tote it over. My shift at the PCC is starting in a half-hour anyway, I'll just show up early."

"Thanks Jared. See you then." He hung up and collapsed in a heap onto his couch. The events of the past few days blurred together in Yami's mind, he had a hard time distinguishing one from the other. It was even harder trying to place _himself_ in the middle of all those events.

There was a knock at the door and when he opened it, Yami was met by Jared, carrying the Uzi wrapped in a towel, as well as holding two smaller guns on a leather belt-like object.

"Here you go, and here's his extra clip, and these are his Tonfa Blasters too. I thought perhaps you'd like them as well. Bakura did always favor hard-to-aim guns, he's one of a kind up at the range. Really talented. I upgraded the Tonfas for him and everything though." He shook his head ruefully. "I can't believe he's been arrested."

Yami gently set the weapons down on the hall table. "I know…and there's nothing I can do about it." He said, refusing to look up. "Thanks for bringing these, Jared. Bakura'd…he'd be glad to know you took care of them."

"Well…I guess I ought to be off…take care Yami."

"Later." He closed the door without any further ceremony and leaned back against the wall there, staring at the guns for a moment. "You were an idiot, Bakura." He whispered. "You should have run when you had the chance. You never should have become a killer. What was so important about me that you sacrificed yourself? Why didn't you be all self-centered like you usually are?"

…_Because I love you! And I didn't want anything bad to happen to you!_

"I don't understand anything anymore. How can you love me? You hated me, why did your feelings change? And why…why does this bother me so much?"

He sighed. Honestly, back when he'd incarnated Bakura into a body of his own, he'd thought that finally he'd put all those problems behind him. Itlooked likethe bitter theifhad gotten over Kuru Eruna, and that their fight was over.He'd thought that Bakura would no longer be able to cause him any pain. But no, Bakura had still found a way to hurt him, even after all that.

But now…it wasn't caused by hatred. It was pain of a different sort.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

The writer's block persists…damn thing, _why _it had to show up now of all times is beyond me. Fate is out to get me. The planets are in a weird alignment. The numerology for these chapter numbers insists that fanfic writers shall suffer writer's block. There's got to be _some _reason. Try to be patient. I hope it'll at least leave me alone in time for the last chapter. I can't help but think this chapter could have been done better. It's mostly a big angst-fest. Sometimes…actually, a lot of the time…I'll be writing a chapter and just for the hell of it I make it really angsty or sappy or something, just for my own gratification. Even if it has nothing to do with the sl, I feel like writing something all dippy, so I do, then I erase it and write the actual chapter. Sometimes however, I can't make myself erase all the angstiness and get down to writing the REAL chapter, and this sort of thing is the result. Some sort of actual-chapter-and-dippy-fanwriter-stuff hybrid.

Aw, poor Yami.He'd thought thathe and Bakura's whole conflict was overand that he wouldn't haveto worry about Bakura trying to hurt himagain...onlyto find out that Bakurawas still able to hurt him in the worst way of all-by breaking his heart.What are he and Bakura to do? Something drastic, no doubt. Let's hope they don't do anything _too_ foolish. Crazy 5000-year-old kids.Guess we'll all find out next chapter! I know this seems to be going quite a bit off track. It'll go back on track in the next chapter. This chapter is setting up for a major event to occur in the next one, as well as for the ultimate future of the two of them. Can you find the set-up? Well…since you'll get to find out what happens next week anyway, I suppose the set-up really isn't important, come to think of it...

This chapter didn't have much of Bakura in it…and since he's the main character, that's sort of strange. Yami gets to take center stage for this chapter, and he gets a pretty important part in the next one, as well as his ultimate last scene in the fic in that last chapter, but it'll go back to mostly Bakura after this. Because let's face it, this is HIS story.

Y'all are lucky to even get this today...I have eleven freaking pages of Spanish HW. It's a long story. It was like a bad joke. Most of my answers to the questions make no sense. The question will translate to something like, "what's your favorite color and why", and my answers are things like, "spaghetti, I like rain, my friend is green." Stuff like that. Well, by the time I got to page five I was getting sorta sick of it...but I finished it...and got this uploaded too. Man, if nothing else, I'm good at cramming.

Anyhoo, replies!

Mariko: I'm sorry mi amigo, but once a week is what you get.

You Know Us: Gotta love the cuteness! Nothing is complete without a little of it, after all. In my fics…yeah, the police usually ARE clueless. Hmmn…makes one wonder. (Stupid peoples, busting in to interrupt a declaration of love scene…if this were a movie, I could think of some VEERRYYYY good out-take scenes for that. :wicked grin: Seriously though, _how_ could they?) A pitiful Bakura is almost comical, actually, yet also somehow very sad. Whenever I think of him, I see his five-year-old self back in Kuru Eruna,watching in horror what was happening to his family and friends, and I see him as a very sad person now.Yay for undercurrent! Bad in water…good in fics. That writer's block better get out of my way!

Hershey-Kiss: That's a seriously good question. I wouldn't mind knowing the answer myself, honestly. (Besides, I would very much like to be able to accurately predict math test answers. Finals coming up soon. O.o) Anyhoo…he does seem the laughing type, doesn't he? Cookie! I get a cookie, yaaayyy…at least I did that right. xD Anything for cookies…Yeah, and since there's still a few chapters to come, everything couldn't end right there. "another nominee for world's suckiest ending…" do I sense a "hint hint"? xD I don't think you'll hate the ending, don't worry.

Ooooohhh, I downloaded ep 184! (I am so guilty of so much spoiler watching…),I can honestly say that it is a truly beautiful episode, and I hope the dubbers leave at least a little of the dialogue intact. (I know they changed the Doom Arc in terms of Yami's 'darkness', but…I still hope they can salvage a little of the dialogue.) Well, just the last scene in itself, Yami and Yugi facing each other in front of the sunset, (which is dialogue free), it's really…really…amazing. I can't really explain it, there's a bottomless pit of symbolism and beauty in it though, and it's just…ah, I dunno. It's unexplainable. But when I was watching it I just got this massive unnamed emotion in my chest and it's just…the whole reason I watch Yugioh in the first place. I think you'll understand what I mean when you see it, if you haven't yet. Have you ever seen something that, the minute you looked at it, you felt that your whole reason for living was just to see that one thing? That's the way the scene makes you feel. Sorta like 224, only early.

I can't wait for school to get out. Just had to toss that in. This fic will end, like, the first week of summer break, so each chapter I post up…I know it's one week closer to the end. Sophomore year…it's tougher than it looks. I look forward to bidding it farewell!

I'll see you all around. _Sayonara mina_!


	21. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 21

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Twenty-One

"Let me get this right." The main officer of Bakura's case, the one that Yami had nearly gotten in a fight with, eyed Tom with obvious distrust. "You're saying that you also worked within this secret society that Bakura told us about?"

After splitting up with the rest of the group that afternoon, Tom had gone straight to the police station to tell them his story. For the last hour he had talked, recalled everything he thought might be able to help, and the witness to this testimony was the man sitting before him: a trim, no-nonsense, fairly serious looking police officer. Theoffice he was in looked very lived-in, the walls crowded with papers, pictures, and official-looking documents. The array displayed indicated that the same person had probably inhabited the office for a long time, and he seemed to be very proud of hisaccomplishments.It was rather distracting.

"Yes, he was telling the truth. Issei Iyoku was threatening to kill someone close to him if he didn't kill those people. He made threats to keep all of us there. And he made good on whatever threats he made. Bakura had no choice to do the things he did, and you can't arrest him for that."

To his credit, the officer _was_ taking down every word that Tom said on a yellow notepad, as if his life depended on the perfection by which he wrote. He looked over his perfectly-penned notes for a moment and then asked,

"So tell me, why is it that no one else has come forward?"

"They're probably too afraid to." Tom said truthfully. "I wasn't going to myself."

"What changed your mind?"

"Bakura's friend Yami figured out where I'd been, and once he told me the story, I agreed to help him."

"Well, thank you for your input." He stood up.

"That's it?"

"We'll put this away on file. It may come in handy at the trial."

"Trial?"

"When Bakura is put on trial. As of yet, we don't have enough evidence for the terrorism charges. There's no proof that Bakura himself did any of it. However we do have enough to convict him for the murders as soon as he's able to leave the hospital to go to the courthouse."

"But, but what about my-"

"I'm sure your story will be most important to the trial as well. Now, go on." The officer said, pushing Tom out the door and shutting it being him; crumpling up theno-longer-perfectnotes as he did so, and tossing them into his trash basket, smiling serenely.

Outside, Tom sighed, unaware thathis past hourhad just been tossed-literally-away."Guess I'd better tell Yami." He muttered, not wanting to imagine the look on Yami's face at the news. He knew it would be best to break it to him as soon as possible. Letting him get his hopes up was cruel, but still, he wished it didn't have to be him.

Yami's reaction was pretty much what he expected. He stood there in silence till he finished his story, then sighed.

"So there's nothing left." Yami said. Tom nodded.

"I don't think my story will make any difference. They've decided that Bakura is guilty. There's nothing we can do anymore. We tried our best, it's just…"

"I understand. Thank you for trying."

"Yami, both you and Bakura had good intentions. I'm really sorry they didn't work out."

"I know."

Tom noted Yami's pale complexion and unhealthily-thin figure. A single week of stress had brought about quite a change. He definitely wasn't taking very good care of himself. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Yami muttered, closing the door, but not before Tom heard his last few angry words, "But Bakura won't."

* * *

_Three Months Later_

* * *

Yami opened the little door of his post office box to find junk mail, a bill, and a letter stamped with the hospital's insignia, his name scrawled on the front in a familiar handwriting. Heart suddenly speeding up, he tore open the envelope. He hadn't heard from Bakura at all since his arrest, except for a birthday card in June. Now it was the end of July. He hadn't seen Bakura since the day in the hospital that he'd tried to kill himself. To get a letter from him was unexpected, but welcome.

_Yami-_

_Hope you're well and got your birthday card. I told the nurse, Reia, to pick it out, so I hope she didn't go get anything too cutesy. Anyway, I asked the police, the Lords of the Universe, if I could write you, and they said sure, but they'd be reading it. They're still convinced I'm going to find some way to escape, and that you're going to help me. Paranoid idiots, I swear. _

_Things are okay here. I'm nearly done with the initial physical therapy stuff. My leg's healed up fine they said and I can walk around with only one crutch and a brace now. Let me tell you, after three months of bedpans and escorts, it's really nice to be able to walk to the bathroom whenever I want. The reason I'm still at the hospital is because if I even fell, I might screw myself up again, and you know jail isn't the safest place, so they've kept me here. Otherwise, I'm fine. Thought you'd just like to know. I mean, if you hadn't found me that night, I might have gotten off worse than just one busted leg and a couple other scrapes._

_I guess I should tell you the truth. The police reckon I'd be okay if I stayed in the jail's infirmary, since I can walk now and my bones are healed well enough that if I fell, it wouldn't be an emergency. So next week I'm leaving the hospital and going off to jail for real, and the trial will start soon. The good news is that they might let visitors there. It could be worse. They told me about how Tom came and talked to them, they seemed to think it was amusing. But it was nice of you to give it a good try to clear my name. I doubt it'll work, they've got this big-shot lawyer coming from Tokyo to testify against me. The court's appointed me a crappy one that's utterly useless. Let's face it, we know which will win, and I don't think it's really right that everything seems to be stacked against me for some reason, even a supposedly "fair" trial…but, maybe this is karma coming back on me, you know, for all that stuff before. You know what I'm talking about._

_Which is why I'm writing this in the first place, besides the fact that I was bored, I just wanted you to know that at least this whole thing will be over with soon. Maybe they'll let you come visit in the jail, if you'd like to. I appreciate everything you've done for me, and I guess I'm just sorry. I'm sorry to have dragged you into this. I'm sorry to have made you worry. I'm sorry you got poisoned and beat up by Blair, and I'm sorry I put you through so much. I might not have a lot of time left to say it. I realize now I waited a little too long and I don't suppose just saying it is enough to make up for everything I put you through, but it can't hurt. Take care Yami,_

_-Bakura_

Yami took a step back to brace himself against the wall. One week, that was all the time there was left. He'd known for a long time that eventually this day would come, but he'd put off acknowledging it. Doing that only made him feel guilty because he'd promised to save Bakura, and he had spent the last three months doing nothing of any use. Sure, they'd tried to track down other Compound members, but to no avail. Obviously they others were hiding themselves well. They'd searched the bunker a second time for a way to control the laser, but that had turned up empty. The ruins of the compound had produced a few scorched bones, but anything that might have identified the bits of skeletons had been incinerated. And now there was only a week left before Bakura would go to jail. And after that, the trial, and they knew what the verdict would be…poor Bakura, locked up. He'd never survive in there, Yami knew it. He'd try to kill himself the first day, and he'd probably be laughing like a lunatic while doing so. Bakura was so dramatic like that. If there was only one thing the white-haired spirit cared about, it was his pride.

He clenched his fist, crumpling the letter in his hand. How could this have happened, how was it possible there was no way to stop it? He got to his feet. He knew he wasn't welcome in the hospital, but suddenly he had an overwhelming desire to see Bakura. Not even to talk to him, just to _see _him, just to see if he was looking better now. Yami knew there'd be guards keeping an eye on the former-thief, but he considered that maybe there'd be less people there in the evening, and so he might be able to catch a glimpse of Bakura then. So he waited till 6:30, then headed off to the hospital, and walked quietly down the hall, trying to look as if he belonged there. But no sooner than he'd reached the hall Bakura was on, when one of the guards walked by carrying a cup of coffee and recognized him.

"Hey, aren't you Yami Atemu?"

"Maybe." Yami replied guardedly, feeling his heart sink.

"You're not supposed to be here."

"I know." Yami glanced in the direction of Bakura's room. The guard must have noticed because he took a step forward and said, "You'd better clear out Yami, you're not supposed to be here, and you don't need to be in any more trouble than you already are. There's no visitors allowed, only police and medical staff."

Yami still lingered, not really wanting to turn around and leave without having accomplished anything. The officer shook his head. "Look man, I don't want to get you in trouble. If you won't leave, I'll have to use force. Now please go before anyone else finds out you're here."

"Fine, fine." Yami shrugged and turned, walking back down the hall dejectedly. Of course, he'd expected that to happen, so it wasn't as if he ought to be too disappointed, but he was anyway. On his way out of the parking lot, he spotted the head officer from that day when Bakura'd been arrested. Worried about being seen, he ducked down behind a car as the man and one of the deputies passed.

"…sure to get that promotion now." He heard the deputy say. Yami blinked and peered over the side of the car in time to hear the officer reply, sounding irritated

"For sure. You'd think that for all the years I've been working for that police force, they'd have advanced me by now. I guess it doesn't matter, now that I've caught a five-time murderer, it's guaranteed…"

"He hasn't been found guilty yet, you know."

"Yeah, yeah…" the man waved his hand and as they walked away, Yami heard his last few sentences: "…Kid's gonna be found guilty. He's a murderer, plain and simple. No one actually cares about what happens to a worthless person like him, and it's not like I'd keep any evidence around that he was innocent anyway!"

Yami dropped to the ground, feeling something very heavy settle in his stomach. So that was why everything had seemed so 'rigged'! Because it WAS rigged! And that crap about "no one caring" about Bakura…it sounded very familiar. It was almost the exact same thing that he'd heard Bakura say. No wonder that the thief sounded so depressed the last time Yami saw him. Probably from day one that officer had been drilling it into his head that no one was on his side. That would explain Bakura's statement about no one caring if he'd died or not. The police couldn't have known what they were doing, but they'd hit Bakura in his most secret and yet also his weakest point…his fear of being left alone again.

Yami had to force himself to his feet, angry beyond belief. All that work had been pointless from the beginning. Just because one stuck-up person had to use the situation for his own gain, Bakura'd been guaranteed a guilty charge from the start. _Probably if that officer wasn't the head of his case, Bakura would've had a fair chance to fight. _He thought, furious. _He might never have even been arrested. If it weren't for that single sonuvabitch messing everything up, he'd probably be free-_

Quite suddenly the answer came to him. A few months before he'd have slapped himself and thought himself crazy for the notion, but now…it seemed perfectly obvious. To give Bakura a last chance at a fair trial, he had to get rid of the person standing in Bakura's way. And to get rid of someone…

* * *

It was ten at night. Yami sat in his car, rubbing his sleeve up and down the barrel of Bakura's prized Uzi, trying to use up some time. He was in a parking lot not far from the house of Androu Tanaka, the, (in Yami's opinion), heartless snake that was preventing Bakura's freedom. He was waiting till the street quieted down, so that he'd be less likely to be seen. He was wearing a long coat to conceal the gun, but even that didn't completely hide it on his small frame, so he didn't want to go walking around while people might still see him. So he was basically just trying to waste some time.

Ever since Bakura had given him the Uzi, he'd gotten it out several times and sat, and merely stared at it as if it was going to give him some sort of answer to an unspoken question. It seemed strange, the idea of aiming it at someone and shooting them. Although he'd killed his own fair share of people in his day, he'd used magic to do it, and anyway, he'd been pretty pissed off at them. Using a gun, on a stranger that you had nothing against, seemed impossible to Yami; yet somehow Bakura had killed five of them with this very one, all to protect him. Just to keep him safe, Bakura'd given up his own wants and own freedoms…just to protect someone that he'd never thought would be able to understand why he'd done it.

Thinking this now, Yami only felt more certain that what he was doing out here wasn't reckless or pointless. He pushed open the door and tucked the weapon away under his coat, closing the door and striding off in the direction of the neighborhood nearby.

He settled himself in some decorative bushes, not ten feet from the next house over. All the buildings seemed to press in around him, which was unsettling to say the least. He kept his eye on a large window, going over what was the best plan of action. Aiming was out of the question. Bakura himself had once said machine guns were not easy to aim, and only an expert such as himself would have the knowledge needed for it. He'd just have to take a guess where to shoot, and if nothing else, put a scare into the man.

Through the window Yami could see a round table with a lamp on it, and the corner of what looked like a large framed picture. The room looked so normal. To pass time, he started to wonder what it would be like to be standing inside that room, to be the person that was shot. To be going about a perfectly normal evening before…

He shook his head and forced himself to stop thinking about that. It had given him a hard feeling in the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was nerves, or fear, or even guilt. And he knew he could get up and leave at any moment. But he couldn't make himself. He'd come this far, and the mental image of Bakura lying in the hospital after having tried to kill himself overpowered all his other thoughts. He'd probably tried to kill himself because of everything that officer had been telling him. _No one cares about you. No one will stand up for you. You're worthless… _A person that treated other people that way deserved to die. Yami had no doubts about that.

At that moment, someone walked past the window. Yami took one glance and identified it as the jerk he'd see just that afternoon, gloating about his prospects. He didn't let himself take time to think, he raised the gun and aimed the barrel toward the window. His hands, which had been shaking only moments before, were now so steady he could have sworn they'd frozen. Time slowed down to a ridiculous pace, to the point it too was nearly stopped dead. He narrowed his eyes at the man and pulled the trigger twice.

And suddenly, time began again.

* * *

Bakura was awoken around midnight by two things: the first being a strange dream in which Yami, his face somewhat pale but his eyes resolute, kept repeating he'd done "it" for Bakura's sake; and the second being loud shouting and yelling and people running up and down the halls outside.

But before he could shout back at them that even psychopathic murderers and would-be international terrorists need their eight hours of sleep, the door burst open and one of the lower-ranked police officers came charging in, grabbing Bakura by the shoulders and yelling,

"Alright, who did it?"

Bakura merely stared back, puzzled. "Ne?"

"Don't give me any of this 'ne' crap, I want to know who did it! I know you were in on it. Now who was it?"

"Who was what?" Bakura asked, more confused than ever.

"Who shot Tanaka-sama?"

"Who the hell is Tanaka?"

"The main officer in your case, now tell me who it was that shot him!"

Bakura furrowed his brow and shoved the man back. "Look man, first of all, hands off. That shoulder just finally got finished healing. Second, I don't know what you're talking about or _what_ you've been smoking, but you can't blame me for it this time. I've been in here asleep, and in case you've forgotten, you've forbidden anyone from coming here and visiting me."

The officer jutted out his chin and scowled. A few of the other officers walked in and one grabbed the young deputy's arm.

"Look, we can't assume he knew anything."

"It was a sub-machine gun, and Tanaka-sama was the head officer in his case, he must have had something to do with it." The deputy argued, clearly determined to have some justice for his superior.

"It must be nice," Bakura said pointedly, "to know what's going on."

He was ignored as another officer and one of the Americans-whom were obviously still set on finding someone to blame for the laser attacks, and had thus not yet returned to America-joined the argument.

"We can't assume anything until the ballistics tests come back." One said.

"Are you sureBakura hasn't had any contact with anyone recently?"

"They set up a roadblock but didn't catch anyone, the person must have had their own car and escaped before anyone else got there."

"At least he wasn't killed…"

"No, but it's really critical, there's no certainty that he'll live to tell us if he saw anything."

"What? What?" The American kept asking.

"I wish someone would tell me what happened, since you all seem to think I'm involved." Bakura tried again, raising his voice a bit more.

"There's the chance it could be a copycat shooter too, hoping to pin it on the real one."

"Just wait till the ballistics tests are done, then we'll know if it's the same gun."

"If it is, then-"

"WOULD SOMEONE TELL ME _WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON_?" Bakura finally bellowed. Everyone, including the Americans, must have recognized at least one of the words because they all turned around to look at him that time. Finally one seemed to take pity and said,

"The main officer in your case was shot two hours ago in his home by an unknown gunman. He's in critical condition and there's no certainty he'll survive the night. So far we know it was a sub-machine gun that used a silencer, but that's all."

Bakura blinked, but wisely said nothing in reply.

Eventually they left him alone to go back to sleep as they went to check on their injured comrade, but Bakura couldn't sleep now. Instead he was remembering something that Yami had told him three months before, the day he'd tried to kill himself:

"_I'll do whatever it takes, no matter how tough it'll get, no matter what anyone says, I'll do whatever I have to…"_

Bakura shook his head. _No way, Yami would never shoot someone. That honor-obsessed freak? He wouldn't try to kill someone just to help me out. I don't care what he said, that crosses the lines of his morals. Yami's morals mean more to him than I do. I know he said he'd do anything, but he would never toss aside the common lines of right and wrong. I know he wouldn't. Besides, he can't possibly be that stupid._

Finally he was able to lull himself into something of a twilight sleep, but not before recalling his dream just before he'd woken up. Maybe that had been more than just a dream. Could Yami have done something so drastic? Was this some type of a plot to set him free, or could the pharaoh have simply lost control of his sanity? It was all too much. _In the morning. _Bakura promised himself. _I'll deal with all this in the morning._

* * *

But in the morning, at 9:00, the police received the results of the ballistics testing, and no less than five officers burst into Bakura's room to confront him, giving Bakura no time for thinking.

"These match the bullets from the other murders."

"You confessed to those, it was your gun you said!"

"Who did you give it to?"

"Did you coerce this shooting too?"

Bakura, who was half-awake, heard only fractions of the questions due to a feeling of stuffiness in his head. Their words were all jumbled together and because he was already cranky from lack of sleep, he answered them by screaming swear words as loudly as possible in alternating languages. Eventually the fun of that wore off and he finally consented to listen to what they were telling him. It seemed that someone using the same gun as had been used in the other five murders had struck again, eliminating the possibility of a copycat murderer. The officer was still hanging on, but drifting someplace between death and life.

The knowledge that it was his own gun shocked Bakura. As far as he knew, that meant the shooter had to be either Jared or Yami. Yet the idea of either of them trying to kill someone was absurd. Jared liked his pistols for collective purposes, he didn't possess the predisposition to kill anyone, and he knew very little of machine guns.And the idea that Yami was the shooter was laughable.

"You said that you used your Uzi to kill those people." The officer in front of him said, fed up. "Now tell me who it was that's using your gun now."

Bakura's mind raced. On the off-chance that it WAS Yami or Jared that was the shooter, Bakura didn't want to see either of them get in trouble. So instead of answering, he buried his face in his hands and burst into hysterical sobs.

The officers all looked startled and each stepped back. "What? What is it?" The one that had questioned him asked.

"Y-you're all such j-jerks, talking about m-m-my Uzi that w-way!" Bakura howled into his palms, his bangs successfully hiding the fact that no tears were coming out. "W-when I don't know where it is, a-and it's p-p-probably being used by some…some idiot that doesn't un-understand it! I lost it the night of the explosion, I d-d-don't know where it is, h-how dare you remind m-m-me about that! I hate you! M-my poor Uzi, who knows wh-where it is. Wh-what if the person that has it d-d-doesn't understand how…how to treat it? What if-"

"Okay, okay, geez." The officer looked disturbed. "I'm sorry I asked." Taking another step back he muttered to his partner, loudly enough for everyone else to hear, "Psychopath."

"Don't worry," another deputy whispered back. "The psychologist here couldn't figure him out either. He tried to give her this story about how he's 5000 years old and used to be a tomb robber in Egypt."

His face hidden from their view, Bakura smiled to himself. _Oh, if you only knew._

"Well, if he doesn't know who it was…"

"It is possible someone else might have picked his gun up. Come to think of it, do any of you remember if he had it on him when he came to the hospital?"

"When they were getting him and his unconscious friend into the ambulance, I don't think he had it with him."

"Could it have fallen off? There was a lot of smoke, it was hard to see…"

"It's a sub-machine gun, you _think_ we would have heard it hit the ground."

"Well, the spiky-haired one was unconscious, wasn't he? He couldn't have taken it."

"What about the other guy in the truck?"

"Wait, the one with the weird hair, he woke up."

"He did?"

"Yeah, remember, they were taking so damn long with Bakura that the other one…what was his name anyway?"

"Yamu, Yumi, something like that."

"It's pronounced 'Yami'."

"Right, him, he woke up, I remember he was shouting up a storm about riding in the ambulance. He wanted to ride with Bakura."

"You know, that's a good point, and he was the same one that Tanaka got into a fight with that time here."

"Wasn't he the one that Bakura was writing to the other day?"

"Oh my god…I completely forgot, Yami was here yesterday!"

Bakura abruptly stopped pretending to cry. _Yami…was here?_

"He was?"

"Yeah, I told him to clear out and he did, but…maybe it _was _him."

"Ah, maybe he picked the gun up, maybe he thinks he's going to get revenge or something."

"Hey, someone, go to his house, search it from top to bottom." The youngdeputy swung his arm toward the door excitedly. "We'll take care of this whole business for good."

"We need to get a warrant."

"Then go get one!"

"It'll be a day or so at the soonest."

"Just get your butt in gear and go get one!"

"Right, we're on it-" Everyone dashed from the room.

_No, Yami…_ Bakura lifted his face from his hands and looked around wildly. _If it was him, if he did it, he'll get arrested too…I've got to do something, I've got to warn him._

He was already reaching for his crutch when he remembered. He was in the hospital, the police guarding his door and he forbidden to have any contact with the outside world. There was no way out, no way to get a message to Yami undetected. He fell back into bed and glanced at the clock. If only there was some way, if only he could just warn Yami, that if he was the shooter, to get out of Domino, or at least hide all the evidence. Only a day or two, how would he be able to get hold of the pharaoh in time to tell him? It was simple…he couldn't.

* * *

That morning, Jared sat down with a cup of coffee to watch the news on TV before going into work. Sipping his coffee, he flipped through the various news channels. One was discussing the prices of stocks, another showing a weather forecast, and then he saw one with a "breaking-news" headline across the top. Curious, he set down the remote to watch.

"Ballistics testers this morning were able to confirm the make and model of the weapon, used last night to shoot and seriously injure Androu Tanaka. And they are also able to confirm that the weapon, an Uzi sub-machine gun, type-A, is the same as was used in the five horrifying murders that Domino saw three months ago. The suspect for these murders is in custody for these, as well as suspected terrorism charges, however now the questions arise. Could he have an accomplice? Or was it all a story he made up? Could the murderer still be loose? We now go live to our ballistics expert-"

Jared choked on his coffee and began coughing, staring in disbelief at the screen.

"Yami, you're as bad as Bakura!"

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

My writer's block is pretty much gone…huzzah! We can all be glad because we've entered the ending zone, and I can't screw this up now. Two chapters left to go, and some pretty big problems to do something about. At least there shall be some excitement. This chapter wasn't as good as I'd have liked it, but at least I pulled myself together enough to make it decent. Look forward to an exciting one next time!

Androu Tanaka…It sounds a bit like Andrew. It sounds like the name that some big, manly-man sort of guy would have. The guy was a jerk anyway. Whenever I create OCs, they usually die…anyone besides me notice that? Blair, Louis, the five OCs that Bakura killed…hmmn, Jared and Tomoya better keep an eye on themselves. Oh, and about Tomoya's name…it came from an accident in Shounen Jump, when they put 'Tomoya' as Jounouchi's first name instead of "Katsuya". Good thing they fixed that, as it does not fit Jounouchi at all…but it works as a good name for the OC.

Yami said he'd do anything. And now he's done it. Gosh, trying to imagine Yami shooting someone is odd. He just seems like such a nice person. (Though, we all agree, Yami alwayswas a little bit of a smartass…the guy's got pride.) But then again, he was driven to this. His original plan didn't include people getting hurt. I guess he felt trapped. Besides, he was very mad. It's kinda cute, really, how he got so upset. I love to write forupset and lovesick charrahs.I enjoy a good romance like this.It began as a mystery story and has now become…something strange. I hope it's not going too far off track. I mean, this is still tied to the main sl. The main sl was supposed to be Bakura trying to keep Yami safe, dealing with what exactly is the "right" or "wrong" things to do, with various sidebars of course. Now it's sort of backwards, but it's still kinda the same…isn't it? Bakura'll come backin as the 'hero' inthe next chapter.I can't believe I made it to chapter 21! It's insane. Bakura and Yami are insane. I'm insane. Everyone still reading this is insane. We're all insane together. I'm gonna go make us an "insane pride" flag.

Replies:

Hershey-Kiss: On one hand…yeah, the plot was very, very vague. On the other…it was a fairly sucky chapter anyway, so I doubt anyone besides me would pick up on much of it anyway. :shrug: O.o Your I-pod sounds like something that would end up being chucked on the floor if I ever met it. Or, perhaps it is merely the manual being stupid. (User's manuals are, 98 percent of the time, useless.)

You Know Us: Well, you were pretty darn close…you just know me too well. I can't hide anything! (And you were right on the money with the original writing of this. In the first draft of this chapter, Yami shot the guy to try to convince the police that the 'real' murderer was still out there. You just know me waaaayyyy too well.) xD Aw well, I hope you two enjoyed the twist here. Michelle should be pretty happy, she got Yami and an Uzi all in the same chapter. Pretty spiffy, yes:niko: I know! I want some Tonfa Blasters. They're very fun, handheld, and make a decent fashion statement to boot. Can't beat that. Gomen, but torture is just what I do. xD

Fear of Falling: Yeah for Hershey's favourites list, ne? xD Darkshipping fics are hard to come by…I'm glad I could provide a good one! As for those questions…all in good time, my friend.

(Oh, and I made a mistake. It's a _sunrise_, not a sunset in episode 184. Gomen! Hey, they look a lot alike, alright…) Got nothing else to say, (Mad tired.)…one and a half more weeks of school to go, (O.o I swear, the last weeks feel like they've been five years)…I'm going to go preview the Lost Millennium expansion in a few weeks, (Yatta!)...I haven't killed my Windows Movie Maker yet, ('Tis truly, truly a miracle)…

I'll see you next week!


	22. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 22

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Twenty-two

Yami was at home. He too was watching the news that morning, not taking in much of it. He was instead trying to figure out the emotion inside of him. It wasn't fear, or guilt, or anger, or any of the ways he thought he'd be feeling. It was just sort of resolute.

"I had to do it." he said to himself. "It had to be done, for Bakura, and that guy deserved to die." He'd been telling himself this to try and get rid of the guilt, but that was the strange thing. There _was _no guilt. He felt surprisingly calm. Which confused him only further. Why didn't he feel bad? Once again he wondered if this was how Bakura had felt. Before last night, he would have thought it impossible to shoot someone and feel this settled the next day. Now he felt as though he were doing something wrong by feeling almost completely normal.

There was a pounding at the door. Yami turned the TV off, but didn't get up. The pounding grew more impatient and he heard what sounded a lot like Joey's voice calling his name. His friends, of course…they must have heard the news too. He hadn't told them about Bakura giving his gun to him, but he knew perfectly well that they were no fools. Finally he stood up and walked to the door.

"Hey guys." He said, opening it to see them all pressed against the door to the point that Mai and Joey, the two in front, nearly fell over when it opened.

"Yami!"

"We saw the news-"

"-Bakura's Uzi-"

"How could you?"

"Did-"

"-in critical condition-"

"Why?"

"-talking about it all morning on TV-"

"What were you-"

"-police everywhere-"

Yami heard only bits of sentences as they all spoke at once. Finally they sorted themselves out, everyone seemed to reach a silent agreement of sorts, and Yugi asked,

"Yami, did you shoot that guy?"

Yami waited, thinking maybe now the guilt would show up, but still none did. In fact, he was actually feeling pretty satisfied with himself.

"Yes."

They all gaped. "But-you-" Ryou sputtered.

"How?" Tea asked.

"WHY?" Tristan wanted to know.

"Did you really?" Joey questioned.

Yami frowned. "Yes, I really did. Bakura gave me his Uzi, I've got it, I shot the guy last night, I know he's in the hospital now. I don't even know how I hit him because I wasn't trying to aim. Somehow I got lucky, or else he was just unlucky. I did it, I admit it, and it doesn't matter anymore about right or wrong. I did it for Bakura. I'm trying to clear his name, and that officer had it out for Bakura. He was determined that he'd be found guilty no matter what, and now that he's gone, Bakura will have a fair chance. I just hope he has the sense to _use_ it. He never admitted to anything, so if he's smart, he'll take this moment to claim it was all a made-up story."

"Yami-" Yugi began. Yami didn't let him get any further before snapping,

"Look Yugi, I did it, okay? It's not a joke and I'm not going to try to say I didn't."

Yugi blinked. "I understand, I wasn't going to scold you."

"You do? You weren't?"

"You're doing for him what Bakura did for you." Joey said, suddenly understanding too.

"I suppose Yugi told you…?"

"Yeah, he did." Mai said. "And look, I'm sorry I taught that song to Joey-"

"It's not important." Yami said, waving his hand. "So, are you going to turn me in?"

"No way!" Tea said.

"Yeah, we couldn't do that." Ryou agreed.

Yami felt a rush of gratitude. He hadn't really thought they would, but a small part of him had been worrying nonetheless. "Thanks. I'm glad."

"But Yami, what if it doesn't work? What if it they find a way to blame Bakura even though he's in the hospital, or what if they cover it up like a copycat murder?" Tristan asked.

Yami turned toward him with a small smile. "Well, then I'll just have to try again, won't I?" He said. "There's plenty more officers where that one came from."

For some reason, they didn't seem as stunned by this as he thought they would. And he himself barely felt surprised at all by what he'd said. This had gone past common sense long ago. Somehow it seemed that nothing he said or did would come as a shock now.

"But what if they find out it was you? What if you're arrested?" Tea finally asked.

Yami shrugged. "Then I guess that's just what'll happen."

"Is Bakura really worth that much to you? Yugi told us that you weren't entirely sure about how you felt about him. So…does this mean you've decided?" Joey wondered. "Are you really in love with him? Because if you were friends or something, I could see you trying to help, but shooting someone…sounds like infatuation to me. No offense man, but it does."

Yami had to look away for that one, but they could easily hear the smile in his voice,

"He's worth it, Joey. It's taken me awhile and I can't explain why or how, but yes…I love him."

* * *

"Bakura, it's lunchtime." The nurse, Reia, opened the door.

"I'm not hungry." Bakura muttered.

"Come on, you have to eat or you'll never get well, and acting mopey isn't going to help. You have to cheer up!"

"In a few days they're toting me off to jail, and you want me to cheer up?" Bakura asked sarcastically. "Okay, I guess I could do that. Yay! I'm going to jail! I'm so happy I'm about to burst. I've always wanted to go to jail…In fact, I'm so goddamn _thrilled_ I would dance if I knew how. Was that happy enough for you?"

"Now you're acting like a little kid. Should I bring you a tray in here?"

"I told you I'm not hungry."

"Chocolate pocky for dessert." She said temptingly. Bakura shook his head. She frowned and walked inside.

"Are you concerned about being blamed for whoever shot Tanaka? You don't need to be, I'll testify that you were here."

"It's not about me. Everyone knows I was here." Bakura glanced at the door sourly and lowered his voice. "They're blaming…they're blaming my friend."

"The one that keeps trying to come visit you?"

"Yes."

"Well, if he didn't-"

"I'm not entirely sure he didn't." Bakura admitted. "I-look-can I tell you something and you won't repeat it to those vultures out there?"

She nodded. "Of course you can. I'm a neutral party to all this."

_Yami, if I get arrested for trusting her, it's going to be your fault. _Bakura thought silently. "Three months ago, when I tried to kill myself and Yami came in here, I told him to take my Uzi. He said Jared had it, and I told him I wanted him to have something of mine, and that was all I had left to offer him. I don't know whether or not Jared gave the Uzi to him, but Yami also told me he'd do anything to get me out of here. If he was the person who shot what's-his-face, then he could get in big trouble if the police show up with a warrant to search his house. I want to warn him, but there's no way I'll be able to." He paused. He hadn't meant to say that much, but as soon as he'd begun talking, he couldn't stop the words from coming out. "I can't protect him this time. And damn that PISSES ME OFF." He brought both fists down on the bed angrily. "I'm going to jail, Yami might get arrested, nothing is working out like I hoped it would, everything is just so…freaking…screwed…up. And I don't want any lunch."

She said nothing for a moment as Bakura glowered at the wall. _Issei was right, he was right all along. Even though he's dead, he's still managed to screw up my life and Yami's life and there's no way to stop it... _Suddenly he perked up. "Hey, wait a second! You could call him for me. Say you got to leave to go…I don't know, get your hair done or something, and call Yami and tell him he's got to run."

She looked doubtful. "Bakura, I really don't want to get involved in this, I'd rather stay out."

"Come on…"

"I'm sorry, but-"

"Okay fine, what if you snuck a telephone in here, or distracted them long enough for me to make a call. Just to tell him! It'd only take like, three minutes."

"There's absolutely no way that would work." She shook her head. "There's no phone jack in this room."

"What about a cell phone? Or, back to the original plan, couldn't you call him? If he's innocent, you wouldn't want him to go to jail, would you?"

"No, of course not, but if he's innocent, he has nothing to worry about."

Bakura faltered for a moment. "Well…awright, good point." He stopped. "Okay, what if, after work today, you stopped by his house and visited him? Tell him you're sending a hello from me. And then while you're there-"

"You just don't give up, do you?"

Bakura looked back evenly. "Nope."

"What you're asking me to do is against the law. I'm sorry Bakura, I can't do it for you. I don't even know for sure that you're innocent." She _did_ look truly sorry and so rather than yell at her, Bakura waited till she stood up and then asked, hoping he sounded sincere,

"Would you do it for Yami? I'm not asking you to do anything else besides distract the police for a moment. I'll make the call, I'll take responsibility. It doesn't matter if I'm a criminal or not, if Yami is innocent then he shouldn't get in trouble. If he shot someone, he would only do it for a good reason, he wouldn't do it for fun, and he only would as a last resort. So just let me call him. He doesn't deserve to go to jail, he'd never last in there."

She paused, glanced at the door, and then back at Bakura. "Okay, five minutes is all you'll have." Reaching into her pocket, she turned back around to rearrange the flowers in a vase beside his bed and while doing so, slipped her cell phone to him. "Everyone else is with Tanaka right now, only one is at your door. I'll talk to him for a moment." She whispered.

Bakura nodded and slid down under his bed covers, punching in the digits he recalled from the Lost poster, almost before she had left the room.

Four rings, five rings…"Hello, you've reached-" Bakura hit the plunger button in irritation and dialed again. At five rings he heard the shrill beep again and, "Hello, you've-" Frantic now, he tried for the third time and got nothing but the message again. The door reopened and he shot up in his bed to see Reia returning with a lunch tray.

"I've brought you extra pocky, hopefully it will cheer you up a bit." She said, loud enough to be heard outside as she handed him two boxes.

Bakura slid the cell phone back and shook his head. "Couldn't get through." He muttered.

"Why?"

"Dunno." He chewed a pocky stick and sullenly watched the fuzzy shapes of people walking around outside through the window in the door. _I've got to think of something…_

That evening, just as Bakura was stumbling exaggeratedly around the physical therapy room, (he had actually made good progress, and now faked a lot of his disability in order to stay in the hospital as long as he could), he heard an uproar of sound in the hallway. The therapist made him sit down and went to scold whoever it was, returning fairly quickly.

"What's going on?" Bakura asked.

"That police officer that was shot has just died." She said, not aware of what connection Bakura had to it. "And it seems they've secured a warrant to go after the person that they think did it. Yamu, Yumi, some name like that. They just have to wait for it to be faxed or something. Anyway Mr. Bakura, if you could stand up, we can resume-"

Bakura, however, was unable to stand up now. _No…Yami…he doesn't even know what's coming!_

The therapist glanced at the clock. "Oh, it's nearly seven…would you like to go on down to dinner? We can just stop here for the night. I'll call Reia to see you back to your room…"

Bakura's mind raced for a solution, when he quite suddenly found one staring him in the face. Of course, why had he not thought of it before? Sure, it wasn't the most brilliant plan in the world, but then again, it wasn't so dumb it was impossible either. In fact, by Bakura's standards, it wasn't too bad. At least it didn't involve shooting anyone this time.

The moment he limped out of the room with Reia, he whispered,

"Reia, in a few seconds, I'm going to fall right here and seriously injure my leg, requiring emergency surgery, okay?"

"What?" she hissed.

Bakura gave her a look. "And you're going to rush me off to emergency surgery before the police realize anything."

"But you-"

"But instead, you're going to call me a taxi, and rush me to the main floor where I will leave the hospital and get a taxi ride to Yami's house before the police arrive with their warrant."

"Bakura, that's illegal, and dangerous, and I'll lose my job-"

Bakura opened his eyes very wide and stared into hers, as if staring into her soul at the same time. Finally he asked, "Please?"

She stared back. This was the first time she'd heard him ever say the word 'please' like that during his whole three-month stay. Most of the time he had been moody, demanding, if not flat-out rude. He'd asked for little and spent all his time sulking. Clearly this person's safety must mean the world to him. If he really cared about Yami that much… "Awright, you win, I'll help you." She looked away. "Just don't expect hospital insurance to pay for this."

Bakura grinned triumphantly. "I don't plan to be paying any insurance on anything." With that, he launched himself into quite a spectacular tumble.

The minutes following his fall slurred together. Reia shouting for help, police demanding to know what had happened, a doctor ordering Reia to take Bakura to the emergency surgery floor immediately for fear he had seriously re-injured himself, being rushed down the hall on a gurney, howling in not-entirely fake pain, (for his fall _had _actually hurt somewhat), Reia taking an impromptu turn in a split moment to separate them from view into an elevator.

"You'll be okay?" She asked, helping him off the gurney as the lift traveled down to the main floor and she called a taxi agency.

"Fine." Bakura promised. "I've been making better progress than the therapist knows, I don't really need this crutch."

"You're going to look very odd running around in your pajamas." She observed.

"My pajamas are less conscious than those gowns you used to make me wear." Bakura huffed. "I'll borrow something of Yami's if I have time. Thanks a lot for this. I mean, as soon as they find out you lost me somehow…tell them I shoved you or something, I don't want you to go to jail. You might still lose your job, but…"

She smiled and handed him money to pay for the taxi. "It's okay…I've been thinking of looking for a new job anyway. This is a good cause, I think. Just make sure that you and Yami take care of yourselves."

Bakura gave her a salute and slipped out through the emergency room front door. A nurse at the desk gave him a funny look and started to stand up to ask where he was going, but before she could say anything, Bakura was outside and found a cab pulling up. He dashed inside and instructed the driver to burn rubber.

The driver gave him a funny look too as they traveled down the highway. "What's with the clothes?" he asked.

"Costume party."

"No kidding? Is it a holiday?"

"A friend of mine's birthday." Bakura thought quickly. "It's a sleepover."

"Really now?"

"Yep." Now that he was a few miles from the hospital, his racing heart had calmed down and he could think straight. This driver wouldn't be the only person to notice his odd clothes. He had to find some normal street clothes, and preferably a hat to tone down his hair. But before any of that, he had to get to Yami's house, and had to do it before the police found out he wasn't in surgery and sent out a search team.

* * *

Earlier that day, Yami had gone for a walk simply to get out of the house. He returned home, checked for messages and found none on his answering machine, and so had turned on TV to watch a movie, a bowl of instant ramen in his hand. A gunfight on the movie caught his attention as he slurped noodles, and made him think of Bakura. He was considering calling the hospital to see if there was any new information about the police officer, when a breaking news bulletin cut in to answer his question for him. Androu Tanaka was dead. For some reason, watching the news on the screen, Yami felt only angry at the man. Most likely Bakura's trial wasn't the first he'd fixed. No telling how many innocent people had had their lives ruined by him. Yami saw it more as justice than as a crime. He had deserved what he'd got.

There was a sudden hammering at his door. Startled, Yami got up and opened it to see…

"Bakura!" He exclaimed. "What-how-did they let you out?"

"Let me _in_, goddammit!" Bakura shoved by him and shut the door with a solid thump. "Geez Yami, rule one of becoming a criminal, don't make it so easy to track yourself down!"

"You know?"

"Damn straight I know! Isn't it obvious? My Uzi went missing that night in the woods. It was my Uzi that shot the guy. You were apparently causing a ruckus about riding with me, so the police remember you. And they remember how you got in a fight with them at the hospital. And then, apparently like the dimwit you are, you were wandering around the hospital the other day and they put two and two together. Bottom line, you're a lousy vigilante, they know you're the killer, and right this moment they are probably on their way here with a warrant to search your apartment and arrest you, and so here I am to save you. Ta-da, your own personal rescue man." Bakura said this all in one breath. He leaned against the wall to take some of the pressure off his newly-healed leg. "Oh, and I need to borrow some clothes, do you have anything that will fit me? Preferably larger jeans, I've got to fit them over this brace…"

Yami blinked, struggling to take everything in so quickly. "Clothes…sure, I think I have something…the pants may be a little short, but I might have a pair that'll fit your brace…Bakura, how did you get here?" He finally asked, opening the door to his closet, Bakura now sitting on his bed.

"Faking serious injury, gurney, taxicab, walking." Bakura said wearily. "I'm not free, if that's what you mean. I had to run away from the hospital to get here to warn you. As soon as I get some clothes, I want you to grab the Uzi and the Tonfa Blasters, and we're going to make a run for it, now that we're both wanted by the police. You should probably snatch your wallet too, we'll need all the money we can get."

Yami threw some random articles of clothing at him. "Here, I'll go get the guns while you change." He still wasn't entirely sure he understood, but at least one part of it made some sense-he and Bakura couldn't hang around here for much longer if the police were really on their way. He vanished from the room and returned as Bakura was adjusting a baseball cap over his hair and admiring the effect in the mirror.

"Here, give me the Uzi." Yami tossed it to him and Bakura slung it over his shoulder, patting it fondly. "Man, I've missed this thing. I can see you've shined it all up nice and pretty too, not bad. Thanks for taking care of it Yami, you don't know how much it means to me. I knew I could trust you. Are there many bullets left?"

"Six, I think. But here, I've got one of these clips, Jared gave it to me-" Yami held it out.

"Great, this'll be more than enough." Bakura discarded the old clip and shoved in the new one. "And the Tonfa Blasters?"

"No idea."

"Lemmie see." Bakura snatched them. "Sweet, Jared had them reloaded and they're multiple-fire now. Dang, am I sure glad I saved him that time at the range. He's not such a bad guy…"

"Is this a good thing?" Yami asked, blinking.

"It's a great thing, it means you've got a lot more bullets to fire. Here, put these on. You may need them. Remember, these are automatic, like miniature machine-guns. They're not like the Uzi or your average shotgun. So be careful."

"Whatever you say." Yami replied, fastening the belt, having only understood about half of the lingo. He had something more important on his mind anyway. "Bakura-about why I killed that guy-"

"This really isn't the time, Yami." Bakura informed, distracted as he tightened the brace on his leg and they walked out into the hall.

"But you need to know…" Yami insisted. Bakura still wasn't paying much attention so Yami raised his voice: "He was fixing your trial so that no matter what you'd be thrown in jail. I just…wanted to help you."

Bakura looked shocked, then, unexpectedly, the expression on his face became very gentle for a split second. It surprised Yami greatly, he'd never thought he'd ever see such an expression on Bakura. But just as quickly, it passed, and Bakura replied, somewhat gruffly, "Well…thanks."

"Don't bother, I probably just made things worse."

"Worry about that later. First, let's get out of here. We need to get someplace the police won't find us while we come up with a plan."

Yami snapped his fingers. "I've got the perfect place. We found a bomb shelter."

"Bomb shelter?"

"A secret bunker Issei was in the throes of building in case of that World War III he had planned. The police don't know about it, and it's hidden really well. We could live down there for quite awhile if we had to." Quickly, Yami dictated instructions on how to get there. "It's got a rusty C-shaped ring." He finished. "It'll be the best place possible."

"You do realize what you're doing, right?" Bakura suddenly asked.

Yami blinked again. "Yeah…helping you."

"And you don't care? I mean, this isn't against your whole, "honour" thing you're always on about? We're running from the police, aren't you going to cut in with something about letting justice take its course?"

"Right and wrong isn't even clear anymore, Bakura. It's too late to worry about it. I don't want you to get hurt anymore, and if this is what I've got to do, then I'll do it."

Bakura studied him for a moment. "Yami…" He seemed to be struggling for the right words. Yami set his hand on Bakura's shoulder.

"It's okay, don't bother. Let's just concentrate on the police that I just heard pull up outside."

"Yami Atemu, open up! It's the police, we have a warrant! You have one minute to exit with your hands up!" A loud banging came on the door.

Yami took a step back. Bakura raised his gun. "It's now or never." He said. "Listen to me Yami. I'm going to try to distract them. I want you to run the first chance you get, and don't look back. Don't worry about me, don't worry if you hear gunshots, just keep running. Go to the bomb shelter. Get there however you have to, just not by foot the whole way, dogs could track you. Shoot whoever you have to, don't hold back. If I'm not there by midnight…then something's happened and I won't be coming, and I don't want you waiting around for me so that you get found. It'll be up to you to do whatever after that, but if I'm not there by midnight, and Yami, this is really important, _you've got to leave without me. _Got it?"

Yami nodded. "Okay. But you'd better show up."

Bakura grinned. "I plan to. But if I get cornered, you ought to know I'm going out by my own hand, not theirs."

"You're such a show-off."

"Can't help it, if I'm leaving this world, it's going to be in a blaze of glory."

"Yeah, well…save your glory blazing for another day. I want to see you at the bunker."

"I'll be there." Time was slowing down ridiculously. They both knew the danger they were in, though they may have interpreted it differently. Yami recalled what he'd said earlier that morning to his friends. This might be the last chance he'd get to tell Bakura. He'd confessed his feelings to his friends, but Bakura was the person he really needed to tell, and he knew that he shouldn't wait. He opened his mouth, but the words seemed to be stuck. Why was it so easy to tell his friends, but impossible to tell Bakura? How hard could three small words possibly be to say? A combined total of only eight letters, _why_ were they so hard to say?

"Bakura…if we don't…ever see each other again-"

"Save it, Yami."

"But-I need to tell you…"

"I told you, save it. We'll see each other again." Bakura turned his head to look at him. "You can tell me then." Yami closed his mouth and nodded.

"Okay." They broke their gaze and Bakura fired through the door. There was a yelp outside.

"Go, now!" Bakura shouted, swinging the door open and charging outside, letting loose with a spray of bullets.

"Who is that!"

"It's Bakura!" he heard someone else shout.

"He escaped?"

"Get him!"

Laughing, Bakura took off at a run. His leg was throbbing and he felt a bit wobbly, but at the same time it was pure exhilaration to be outside again, running, to feel the excitement in his blood, just to be _free, _finally, no longer confined behind doors and walls.He heard the sounds of gunshots behind him and was actually glad to see one bullet hit the ground beside his foot. Hopefully this meant they'd forgotten about Yami and were going after himself only.

Bakura slowed down a few moments later to glance over his shoulder and saw no one following him. He knew he had slowed the police down by hitting practically all of them at least once, not to mention his element of surprise. But very soon he knew they would be after him, sirens off in this distance made it clear they had already called for back-up. He had to find a way to make it to the bunker now. A kid on a moped zoomed by him. Bakura raised the gun and fired, nicking the side of the scooter and causing the kid, a high-school student on his way home from cram school, to crash.

"Owch, man, what's up with you?" the kid demanded, shrinking back at the sight of the gun.

Bakura picked up the moped from the ground and pressed the ignition. "I need this." He said, sitting down and racing off down the street on it.

_I'm on my way, Yami. I'm on my way. You'd better be there._

He hadn't gotten half a block before a police car pulled up behind him. Glancing to the side, he saw a second police car coming from a different street, his siren beginning to wail. Bakura grit his teeth. _Well, crap. Now what?_

* * *

The moment Bakura began running, all the officers that were still able took off after him, leaving a few with superficial wounds behind, and one that had been killed upon being shot. They were too busy with their radios to notice much else, so Yami wasted no time running too.

"Suspect Two is getting away!" One of them yelled into her radio. "Heading northbound..." Yami quickened his pace, turning a few corners and arriving on the street he usually took to get to the grocery store. Dusk was falling, and street lights were clicking on. He jogged ahead, trying to stay concealed in the shadows and mindful of Bakura's warning not to walk all the way to the bunker. He was considering going to the store to see if he could steal a car, when behind him he heard the echo of gunshots and stopped dead in his tracks, already starting to turn back when he recalled Bakura's words.

_Easy for you to say, "don't worry about me". _He thought with a huff. _Worrying about you is just what I do. Getting caught up in a secret society, piloting a laser, becoming a murderer, having a car fall on you…and that's not to mention your love for deadly weapons and no sense of self control…dammit, how can I NOT worry?_

He lingered where he was now for a few moments, and finally shook his head and took off at a run toward the grocery again.

_Bakura's just fine, there's no one, not even the police, that could beat him in a shoot-out, and he's got reflexes like lightening. If I were to go back he'd be standing there with that sneer on his face and then he'd yell at me, "Why the hell are you here! I told you not to turn back!" And then he'd laugh and say I was dumb for worrying about him, there's no one that could ever match him…you can't get rid of that guy anyway. _Yami slowed to a stop and walked into the parking lot, looking around for a car he could steal. It was ironic. A year ago he considered himself a good person. Now here he was killing police, stealing cars, and who knew what else he might do. Yet…he still thought of himself as a good person. _The best thing for now would be to get to the bunker and wait. I just have to get there, and Bakura will surely be along soon after. He might be on his way there already! Hang on Bakura, I'm coming…_

To Be Continued…

* * *

Author's Notes:

Aaah! The next chapter will be the last… :insert picture of Bakura holding a copy of the last chapter with a WTF-OMFG look on his face: I can't believe it, is it really the end of the fic? Seriously? No way! You're kidding! Your eyes must be playing tricks on you. No, but really though, next chapter will be the last. How will this end? Will they go to jail? Will they end up fugitives? Will they be together? Will Issei's prediction come true? Will they meet cruel, bloody deaths on the unforgiving city streets, forever fated to never be together, to die alone, to never confess the true depths of their love for each other? (Kami-sama, where _am_ I coming up with this stuff…? It's probably best not to ask…) Only a few of the questions to be cleared up next chapter. I hope you've enjoyed the fic, all the laughs, all the tears, all the blood and gore, and all the love, too. Next chapter will be nice and long. Make sure you have plenty of time when you read it. There's a pretty serious problem to work out, not to mention the relationship.

And what _have _I done to Yami? He's like, a vigilante now! (But I _love_ vigilantes so I guess I can't complain…) Why is it that the justice system is always corrupt and/or mistaken in my fics? Am I some sort of cynic? Nah, I just like to give the good guys a bit of a bad streak, you know, to emphasize that the barriers of "right" and "wrong" are very very flexible. It's very controversial and heaven knows I love to write about controversial stuff to make people think and sometimes…even make get frustrated with me. (I must have a touch of masochism in me…then again, all AMVers have a touch of masochism, so there you go.) This fic sort of pushes that more than others did. I've wanted to write something like this for a long time, something where the good guys have to do bad things. Sure, maybe killing those people was wrong…but Bakura did it because of love, so can he really be blamed? Maybe shooting Tanaka-san was a bit much, but Yami only wanted to protect someone close to him, and the guy was a jerk anyway, so was it really such a bad thing? This is the sort of story I love to write. Bakura and Yami are the sort of charrahs I like too, I hope to create my own OCs somewhat like them someday. I bet they'd do a great tragedy fic too, eh? Jumping off a cliff together or something? Yeah, they'd make great tragedy stars, you know it. Such loveable guys.

I brought Bakura back in as the "hero". My writers' magazine says you should NEVER switch heroes halfway through a story and I realized that Yami was starting to be more the hero than Bakura was. So Bakura's back in the hero seat, (who would have guessed!), and with only one chapter left to go…well, at least now I don't have any more time to screw anything up. This is probably a good thing. :laugh:

I was thinking about this fic the other day, and I was thinking that the Good Charlotte song "Bloody Valentine", and this fic, have a strange similarity. Sure, Bakura didn't have to kill anyone that Yami knew personally, but the chorus…I swear it was written for this fic. Think about it: _Oh my love, please don't cry, I'll wash my bloody hands and we'll start a new life. I don't know much at all, I don't know wrong from right. All I know is that I love you tonight. _Is that weirdly similar or what? Bakura's asking Yami not to run away from him or cry because Bakura became a murderer…washing off his 'bloody' hands in hopes to start a new life…the fact that he doesn't really know wrong from right…that all he knows is that he loves Yami and will sacrifice anything-even someone else's life-for him…jeez, it's sort of scary. And I didn't even plan this! I might do a vid for these two to that song someday…it'd be a challenge.

Replies!

Fear Of Falling:claps: Yay! I surprised you. xD I love to surprise people with twists in my fics. You're lucky to have shown up late in it, you didn't have to wait through all the other cliffies.

You Know Us: Yep, yep, it was mad serious. Do you have any idea how serious a leg injury alone can be? A person can DIE from a broken femur, and that particular life-threatening bone takes a long time to heal properly. Add that to his other injuries and the stress as well, and there's a perfect example of someone whose insurance company probably hates him…ah well, it doesn't look like Bakura'll be around to pay any insurance right now anyway. Knowing how such companies work…you probably agree that this is actually a good thing for Bakura…xD I'm so glad that Michelle-chan was happy! I wanted to make her happy. And I just can't get anything past you, can I? The slightest hint of symbolism, (such as Yami with the Uzi)…it just doesn't go unnoticed. Very good! You get a prize for being observant about my painstaking symbolic details. :smile: I'm glad someone notes them!

Hershey-Kiss: Yeah, you know, I had a feeling that scene would surprise people…but that's good! Your reaction was what I was going for, which means it must have worked. Aw…I'm sorry about your ankle. I sprained my arm in grade school, so I know just how painful such an event can be, and I didn't even have to deal with crutches. :pats: Have fun watching it turn colours at least. Look on the bright side, you can always smack your enemies over the head with the crutches. That's fun!

I reserve the right to complain now…I downloaded the dub of 184, (y'all are getting tired of listening to me lament about this eppy, aren't you? xD I'm almost as bad about it as I was about 163.), and while I'm a bit disappointed with the loss of one of the original lines, I really like some of the new ones, so that's cool. The problem is that the download I got of it _cut off before I got to see the last five minutes! _The last five minutes are the most important! That's one of the cutest parts and the part with my favourite dialogue in it! Grrrr…so not fair. How could Yugioh-Legendz do this to me? I've downloaded plenty of episodes from them, but this is the first episode that had the end cut off! _Why this episode? _Arragghhh…fate is so cruel.

Awright, all done.

Later my loves, I'll see you next week! SCHOOL WILL BE _OUT_!


	23. The Purpose of a Heart Ch 23

Okay people, here's the deal. I was out of town last weekend, so that provided a bit of a problem in the posting department, as this is fifteen pages long and I had to spend extra time to obsess over the angsty parts. You know how it goes. I finished this yesterday, but the stupid site wouldn't let me log in. Some crap about the page being unable to load because the server was overloaded or the URL did not exist. Anyway, it seems to be okay now, so I'm really, really sorry for the lateness, and here's the last chapter. Adieu!

The Purpose of a Heart  
Chapter Twenty-Three

Bakura skidded to a stop on the moped and glanced from side to side. There were three police cars now, one on both sides and one behind. Their lights were flashing, the night around him diced into blue and red explosions, and Bakura was aware that the engines in those cars were far superior to his hijacked scooter.

The moment he stopped, the police cars came to a stop as well. The door started to open and Bakura raised his gun. The door stopped opening and a voice came over the loudspeaker,

"You're surrounded. Drop your weapon, or we'll shoot."

Bakura merely placed his finger over the trigger with a familiar quirk of a smile on the side of his lips.

"I repeat, drop your weapon or we will shoot you."

"Yeah, you always say the same thing, but you never follow it up!" Bakura shouted back. "You guys are too damned nice! How about you drop _your_ weapons? Or I'll shoot you!"

He heard gunshots from all directions and dropped to a crouch beside the moped; shielding one side of his body, pulling the trigger of the Uzi at the same time, his eye adjusting for distance in an instance. Bakura had a personal motto, to never fire unless he was pretty sure he'd hit the target. Bullets could be expensive and it wasn't worth it if they didn't hit what he wanted them to. He'd used this particular gun for about a year, and knew everything about it he needed to know, including how to compensate for the difficult aim that machine guns were afforded. It was one of the things he liked the best about its semi-automatic quality. Only one bullet at a time to worry about; unlike the automatics, which made a mess of everything _except _what you were aiming for. He heard with satisfaction the sound of glass breaking and the shouts of the officers as they dropped their guns, most of them with bullet wounds now.

_It's your own fault, I gave you fair warning. _

The street was deadly silent now in the wake of the gunfire, everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to make the first move. Bakura, (who, in a situation even half as serious as this, would ordinarily have ever particle of his being concentrating on the moment), found himself thinking, instead, of Yami. Was he okay? Had he made it to the bunker yet? What if he hadn't been able to lure all the police away, could Yami have been arrested, or even shot? He might be a world-famous duelist, but to the police he was still a suspected cop-killer who was _definitely _resisting arrest, and that counted for plenty.

It was the first time he'd ever let something distract him, mainly because up till now he'd never had anything to worry about except himself. But his single moment of distraction was all the nearest police officer needed. Bakura heard the gunshot and was able to turn just enough so that the bullet nicked his shoulder instead of hitting his chest. He saw it exit his body out of the corner of his eye, and the slug bounced along the ground, blood sticking to it. Suddenly the pain hit him as if someone had just set his shoulder on fire and he had to force himself to keep both his hands on his gun as he fired back, the recoil causing his wound to open further. Behind the nearest police car, Bakura saw more police arriving. He was surrounded, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and definitely no way to escape without being noticed now. He wasn't entirely sure how many bullets he had left, surely not very many given how many times he'd fired.

_How will I get out of this?_

* * *

"Excuse me." The woman turned around to see Yami standing behind her, a Tonfa Blaster in each hand. She froze. "I need your car." He said, almost apologetically. "Just for a little while."

This was the strangest hijacking she had ever heard of. Despite having some type of weaponry pointed at her, the stranger looked rather friendly. He also looked familiar. You didn't forget hair like that."My-my car?"

"Yes, your car. Just give me the keys." He advanced, the Tonfa Blasters pointed threateningly at her.

She held them out and shrank back from the guns. Yami sighed with relief. The last thing he would have needed would have been a hard-headed chick with pepper spray or a gun of her own. He might have looked as if he knew what he was doing, but in reality Yami knew very little about firearms, especially the newly-marketed Tonfa Blasters, and the information Bakura had given him had been fairly useless. "Automatic" was what Bakura had said. "Like miniature machine guns", he'd said. The terms were lost on Yami, and he hadn't had time to ask for clarification.

Gratefully holstering the guns, Yami leapt inside, selected the key with the brand name of the car on it, (the most likely to be the correct key), and started the engine up. With a squeal of tires he backed out and took off down the road.

The woman turned with her cart and returned to the store. "I need to use your phone, my car's just been hijacked." She said to the manager, looking very puzzled. "Well…if you could actually call it a 'hijacking'."

_Awright Bakura, I'm on my way. _Yami gunned the engine down the highway, left the city limits, and parked the car some ways down a gravel road into the woods, taking the time to cover it with branches so it wasn't too conspicuous and wiping away some of the tracks; trekking on foot to the bunker. His heart was pounding with nervousness. _Why am I so worried? Bakura's probably already here, he'll be waiting, he'll demand to know why I'm so late in that rude way of his…_

"I'm here Bakura!" he announced, lifting the hatch and lowering himself into the dark hole, dropping it shut behind him and groping for a flashlight. Flicking it on, he located some candles and a lighter and lit a few of them for extra light. A tiny air vent, the sort that most bomb shelters had, was situated beside the hatch so he didn't have to worry about the smoke. "Bakura? It's just me, I'm here!" He walked into the second room, even though by now he knew that Bakura wasn't there.

Trying to calm his heart-now racing again-he sat down and checked his watch. It wasn't even nine o'clock yet. Bakura would be along soon, there was a long time till midnight, and he was probably just spending the time covering his tracks too. Yami yawned and rolled out one of the stored sleeping bags in the corner. A quick nap would do him good while he waited…probably Bakura would arrive before he even woke up. He fell asleep quickly, this thought calming him.

* * *

_I'm officially screwed. _Bakura thought, looking around warily. There were flashing blue and red lights coming from all directions, gun muzzles pointed at him from all angles, and only a few bullets of his own left. Adding to that the pain in his shoulder and his leg, and he thought they ought to write up his death certificate now.

_If worst comes to worst, I'll shoot my own head off right here. _He thought to himself. _Anything's better than letting them shoot me, or going to jail._

"I offer you a last chance, surrender your firearm and raise your hands, now!" the nearest officer barked into his megaphone, not daring to come any closer. They were no fools, they knew the power that Bakura's gun was packing, and they did not know how many bullets he had remaining. "Surrender now, or we will shoot!"

Bakura lifted the Uzi and pointed the barrel at his own head. _Not much else left…I'll go down in the history books if nothing else…and I did tell Yami that it might come to this._

The officers all seemed to start in surprise at his action. "Put the gun down!" the one on the megaphone shouted.

_At least this'll all be over with._

Bakura's finger tightened against the trigger.

_I'm sorry Yami, looks like I won't be able to help you out anymore. So you'd better shape up and stop doing such stupid things._

He saw Yami's face in his mind and sighed. _I wonder if he'll miss me._

Bakura glanced to his right and saw, there, the door to a police car, half-open. He stared. It was too perfect, too set-up. The car wasn't running, but the key was in the ignition. The road in front of it was fairly clear, there was one car in front of it, but it could be driven around. The officer that had been driving it wasn't nearby, he had leapt out and forgotten to take the key, obviously a newbie. Though he'd tried to close the door, it hadn't shut all the way. Bakura's eyes narrowed. _No fate, come on, don't do this to me._

He moved his eyes the slightest bit. No one was near it. The police all had their eyes on him, wondering if he was really going to shoot himself. His eyes returned to the car. He knew the moment he tried to run the police would fire and that could be the end right there. He could easily be killed just trying to open the door in time. He might not be able to get the car started, or maybe he wouldn't be able to squeeze around the police cruiser in front. It would be awfully risky to try to run.

He'd been telling himself the whole evening that he'd shoot himself before he'd let those other guys take him down. Death, all things considered, wouldn't be that big of a deal seeing that he'd be dead, after all, and wouldn't exactly have to worry about it. But now…one last chance…what was more important, his pride, or taking the risk that might, just might, let him escape and maybe see Yami again? His pride, of course that was more important than anything. His pride was all he had in the long run, and it was the reason he'd always kept moving on. But at the same time…there was something in his chest that wanted to see those deep purple eyes one more time. His head was telling him to go out in a blaze of glory by his own hand, but his heart was speaking up for the first time and saying something quite different, it wanted to take a chance for something else, something nameless, but more important than pride, more important than glory…

"Dammit Yami, you're going to owe me for this!" he shouted, getting to his feet and twirling around, letting loose with a final spray of bullets. The officers all fired back, an equally powerful return assault. The noise itself was deafening, but it didn't matter to Bakura, as he poured all his energy left into a final lunge toward the vehicle before him.

* * *

Yami awoke some time later with a start in the bunker. He wasn't entirely sure what had woken him up. Perhaps a dream, or maybe just nerves. Getting to his knees, he felt about for the flashlight and turned it on, shining it on his wristwatch.

12:46 am.

He shook his head and blinked, and looked closer. The time remained the same. Getting up, he looked around wildly. "Bakura? Bakura, are you here?" He didn't know why he bothered to call, he could feel the emptiness of the bunker in the air, he knew there was nobody else inside.

_If I'm not there by midnight…then something's happened and I won't be coming…You've _got_ to leave without me…_

Bakura's final words echoed in his mind. Yami grit his teeth. _No, Bakura's the best there is when it comes to guns. Maybe he's only owned the Uzi for a year, but he knows that gun like the back of his hand, it's practically a part of his body, there's no way the police could have out-shot him. But what else could have happened? He's so stubborn, if there was any way for him to get here, he'd be here. So where is he? He must be on his way, that's it, he's still on his way._

Yami drew his knees up to his chest, suddenly realizing how cold it was down inside the bomb shelter. Shivering, he stared blankly into the shadows around him, refusing to accept what seemed like the truth: that something had happened to Bakura and he would never appear no matter how much time passed. But Yami sat and waited, every minute gone by killing a few more of his hopes. Finally, at 2:00 in the morning, he gave up and wrapped his arms around his legs, leaning against the cool concrete wall, thinking sadly as he squeezed his eyes shut: _He's not coming after all._

He knew that he ought to be making plans, if Bakura was gone then he was on his own now. He was still wanted by the police, and he couldn't remain in the bunker for too long. Once the car was found, it would be possible for search dogs to track his scent from the car to here. If he had enough money, he might have been able to get a plane ride to Egypt, he was pretty sure Mariku would help him out. After he'd gotten over his grudge, Mariku had turned out to be a friendly person and had also offered to help Yami if he ever needed. Of course, since all he had in the way of money was a mere 7000 yen, getting to Egypt would be a problem. And given that Japan was an island, he certainly couldn't just swim there. So he ought to have been going over his other choices for what to do.

But instead he remained, huddled against the wall in part disbelief and yes…even part anguish. He was really going to miss Bakura. Sure, so the white-haired thief was one of the rudest people he'd ever met and could be very irritating at times and maybe he walked a thin line between 'good' and 'bad', but there was another side to him, there had been a shy side, Yami'd only seen it emerge once or twice, but he could have sworn there was a kind part of Bakura that was trying-slowly, but still trying-to come out of where it had remained hidden for years. He'd come to really like that person…maybe more than he could comprehend. And now, trying to come to grips with the fact that Bakura was either in jail or dead, and that either way he would never see him again, it was next to impossible for him to do. After everything, after all they'd faced, and before he'd ever had a chance to explain to Bakura why he'd done what he'd done…this was how it ended? How stupid. It was a stupid ending and he hated it. Hiding his face in his knees, he angrily bit back tears, not sure whether to curse Bakura out for being such an idiot, World War II for being the reason the whole mess started, Iyoku Issei for turning Bakura into his assassin, or to find someone else to blame. As far as plans…they suddenly didn't matter. The idea of running alone for the rest of his life was a miserable one. He was starting to consider just getting up and turning himself into the police. Maybe he could plead insanity, Kami-sama knew that he'd been put through enough recently to make himself lose it.

And then, from someplace that sounded far away to his clogged senses, Yami heard the sound of clanking, and a loud, yet dull, thud.

"I thought…I told you to only stay down here till midnight! And look at you…crying like a little girl…What the hell's wrong now?"

Yami raised his head so fast it made him dizzy. By the light of the candles he saw Bakura, kneeling down on the floor, his clothes shining with a dark red liquid. The Uzi slid from his arm and clattered to theground as he leaned back against the wall with a sigh, clutching his left shoulder.

"Bakura…" Yami stared in disbelief for a moment then scrambled to his knees and practically launched himself across the floor toward him. "Bakura, where were you? It's 2:00 in the morning, you said you'd be here by midnight!"

"Something came up." Bakura replied, no trace of apology in his voice. "I didn't tell you to wait."

Yami, his emotions now bounding between worry, extreme anger and exhausting relief, found himself shouting,

"What the hell do you mean, something came up? Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? I thought you were dead! I thought maybe you'd been shot, or you went and killed yourself, or you'd been arrested! I thought I was never going to see you again, but you even have the decency to say a simple, "I'm sorry"? No, you have the gall to come in here and just tell me that SOMETHING CAME _UP_?"

"Geez man, take a pill, would you? You have no idea what I had to go through to get here!" Bakura shouted back. "I got shot in this same stupid shoulder, like, five times, I had to steal a police car, thank god I had the element of surprise or they'd have caught up with me in a second. I had to ditch the police car before they tracked it down and run, run in _this _condition, to a parking lot and break into and hotwire another car, I had to drive the thing, which was a piece of crap, through the woods to hide it, and then I had to walk two goddamn miles just to get here! It's a damn miracle I even made it! How dare you start getting on _my _case for being late?" he reached down to unsnap the brace on his leg and then looked up, scowling, "Besides, if it weren't for you, none of this would have happened!"

"OH, SO IT'S MY FAULT YOU GOT SHOT?" Yami's voice rose.

"DAMN RIGHT IT'S YOUR FAULT!" Bakura bellowed. "If you hadn't had to go and be some sort of action-movie vigilante and shoot that officer, I never would have had to come save your sorry ass!"

"Funny, I never remember _asking _you to come help me! And maybe I never should have bothered to try to save you and then you wouldn't have to worry about me or my sorry ass! MAYBE NEXT TIME I'LL JUST LET YOU GO TO JAIL IF THIS IS THE THANKS I GET!"

"FINE BY ME, AND NEXT TIME I'LL JUST LET YOU GET ARRESTED! It'd be a hell of a lot better than being shouted at for being a stupid two hours late! I never TOLD you to stay down here and wait for me! I told you to leave at midnight!"

"Well LA-DE-DA, IT'S ALL CRAP TO BAKURA, ISN'T IT? Just because you don't care about anyone except yourself, I guess you can't comprehend the fact that there are other people that worry about you! I don't suppose you know what it was like sitting down here alone, thinking you were DEAD?"

"Oh would you GIVE IT A REST ALREADY?" Bakura shouted, picking up the flashlight beside him with his good hand and throwing it at Yami. "Fine, I was late! I was shot, chased, and forced to walk for two _freakin'_ miles with this blasted screwed up leg, and, GOD FORGIVE ME, I was late!"

"You just can't do something half-way, can you?" Yami yelled in return, ducking the flashlight. "Do you take some sort of perverse pleasure in getting into the most dangerous spots imaginable and scaring me out of my mind?"

"Yes, as a matter of a fact, I get all hot and excited just _thinking _about it!" Bakura snapped.

Yami shook his head in frustration, wanting to strangle Bakura, yet also now fighting off laughter at how pointless the fight had become. "Grrr…you're so _impossible_!"

"You're not exactly 'easy' yourself." Bakura put in, ever one to get the last word. They sat in silence for a moment, catching their breaths. Then: "So, are we going to stand here and yell and attract the attention of anyone in the country, or are you going to help me get my shoulder patched up?"

"You should die." Yami grumbled, but picked up the flashlight and went to locate a first aid kit anyway. If nothing else, the bunker was well stocked. "You've got an awful lot of energy for someone that got shot. How come that's all they hit?"

"Wasn't for lack of trying." Bakura explained. "I just kept turning and making them hit me in that place. Figured one big hole was probably better than a bunch of little ones. It wasn't too hard. I'm an erratic sort of person. It's incredibly hard to shoot a running person, you know."

"Are any of the bullets still in you?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I had better things to do than sit around examining to see if the stupid things came out or not."

"Well, let's just hope there's none and that no infection sets in. Hold out your arm." Yami commanded, brandishing the roll of gauze and a bottle of alcohol.

"I can't hold it up, it hurts!" Bakura complained.

"What did you expect?" Yami demanded. "Now stop whining and just hold your arm out for a second."

"No, it hurts! And it's going to hurt worse when you put that alcohol on it!"

"Don't give me that, now stop squirming-" Seeing as the thief was particularly weak, Yami quickly won the scuffle.

"Do we really have to do this in this position?" Bakura asked uncomfortably, wincing and scowling as Yami scrubbed out his wounds. He was practically sitting in Yami's lap. His shirt, which was formerly Yami's, was too destroyed to be of any help, and had been discarded to a corner of the bunker.

"Yes, you'll never hold still otherwise." Yami muttered through his hair. "And don't be doing this again, or I'll have a real heart attack and die next time and no one'll help you and you'll bleed to death."

"Sounds cheerful." Bakura made no hurry to get up as Yami taped the gauze in place, fashioned a make-shift sling for him from an extra length of it, and forced some antibiotics and painkillers down his throat.

Yami, though he too had made no attempt to move, finally asked, "So are you going to get up?"

"No, I'm in too much pain, I think I'll just stay right here." For good measure, Bakura leaned his full weight against Yami and moaned, "I'm too weak to get up."

"My leg's going to sleep."

"At least it doesn't hurt like mine does."

"Now it does, it's going all pins and needles."

"Tough."

"Don't you have any compassion?"

"Nope."

Yami was silent for a long time. "Then why did you run away to come find me? You could have avoided all this crap and just let me get arrested."

"No I couldn't. That would be sort of dumb, I mean, I went and became a murderer to protect you, so letting you get arrested sort of defeats my purpose. Besides, I was going to jail anyway."

"Oh, I see. A self-appointed duty, eh?"

"You could say that."

"Bakura…if you thought that I wouldn't be here, why did you try so hard to make it here?"

"Huh?"

"You told me to leave at midnight. Yet you fought so hard just to make it here to meet me, even after the deadline. Why? How'd you know I'd stay behind?"

"I just…I just had a feeling." Bakura replied quietly, looking stubbornly away. "That you'd…wait for me. I don't know. I just…knew that the chance was worth it. I just…wanted to see you again."

They sat in silence a bit longer. Then Bakura asked, to change the subject, "Any trouble getting here?"

"No, everything went well." Yami replied, using his thumbnail to flake bits of dried blood out of Bakura's hair. "I stole a car to get here, so until they find the car, they won't be able to track me. Boy, they shot you up good, didn't they? You've got blood all in your hair…ugh…"

"That would be an understatement. Well, it's good you didn't have any trouble. Then we can probably stay here till morning."

"Yeah, but longer than that'll be pushing it. And since I'm sure by tomorrow there'll be wanted posters up all over town, what do you suggest we do?"

Bakura shrugged. "First, tell me what's up with all this "we" stuff? You keep talking like we'll stay together.

Yami looked confused. "Well, aren't we going to be together?"

"I don't know."

Yami was starting to feel very worried. "Bakura, what are you trying to say? Why won't we be together? I assumed that we escaped together so we'd stick with each other. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"No, it's just…" Bakura shook his head. "Forget it."

"But-"

"Well, I'd say the first thing we should do is find a safer place to crash." Bakura began loudly, signaling a clear end to the discussion. "Maybe out of the country."

Yami blinked, puzzled, but decided to let the matter drop for a few moments. "Sounds like a plan. I was thinking, what if we went to Egypt? Mariku could probably help us out."

"That might be nice." Bakura mused. "I probably have enough money to get us plane tickets someplace, but we'll have to disguise ourselves really well, it would be difficult, and I've got no clothes now that aren't covered with blood…"

"You have money?" Yami asked.

"Yeah. I guess I ought to have explained. Issei paid me to be his assassin. I actually managed to earn a pretty nice amount near the end. He put it in a bank account under a fakeidentity for me, so I can use the funds in it, and usethat identity,without the police knowing. I think there's enough for plane tickets, maybe enough to set us up with a cheap place to live, but that would be it."

"Yes, you'd look awfully suspicious running around covered in blood. Tomorrow I'm going to have to go out and buy us some clothes to disguise ourselves. I figure my apartment will probably be surrounded. I've got enough money for a fewclothes. Then we'll see about the plane."

"Guess you're right. Go buy some more first aid stuff too, I'll give you my ATM number.We won't be able to visit any hospitals and risk registering our names."

Seeing that Bakura was now using "we" as well, Yami began to relax again. Maybe that comment about not staying together had just been a mistake on Bakura's part. "Well, being fugitives never came easy. But I like your plan. Can't see how we'll be able to get on the plane though, even if you bought the tickets with a fake name. There'll be police at allthe airports by tomorrow, and we can't afford expensive disguises.Maybe we should try hiding in the country someplace for awhile. I bet our friends would help us out, but it would be dangerous to contact them, so we shouldn't unless it's an emergency. Phone calls can be traced. But if we stay here, we can save our money."

"We'll think of something." Bakura replied. "I'm sure of it."

"You sound awfully optimistic." Yami noted, surprised.

"Well, when you come right down to it, is there anyplace for us to go but up right now? Tell me, what is there left that could be worse? We're wanted by the police, the rest of our lives will be spent running or hiding, we don't have much money…when you come down to it, we've got nothing left…just a step above being dead…maybe a step below, since when you're dead, you don't have problems like these." Bakura became distracted. "Check it out, I bet these potato chips are still good." He stood up and limped over to retrieve a bag off the self. "Not even opened yet." He said in satisfaction, pulling it open and plopping back onto Yami's lap. "Still crunchy even. Want some?"

"But we're together." Yami said. "Doesn't that count for anything? We _could_ be alone. But we're not. We have each other, right? We've got that left."

Bakura said nothing to that at first as he crunched chips. Then, very quietly: "I guess you're right."

"Hey, you were the one that said you'd done everything because you loved me." Yami said with a smile as he grabbed a handful of chips over Bakura's shoulder.

"'Love' is a very flexible word." Bakura defended snappishly. "Don't read so much into it."

"I dunno, that day in the hospital you sure weren't acting flexible about it. I think you meant it. I mean _really _meant it."

"What's the big deal if I did? Am I not allowed to love someone?" Bakura demanded. "Are you all freaked out because I'm a guy too?"

"No, of course you're allowed. And don't take me for a backwoods redneck, I don't _care_ if we're both guys. Love is love. I'm just glad."

"Glad?"

"Glad that it was true." Yami replied. "Because that makes things much easier on me. Let's face it, it's always easier to say something if someone else says it first."

"And what _are_ you saying, exactly?" Bakura asked, shifting himself around to face Yami.

"I'm saying what I didn't get a chance to say before. The reason I did all that stuff you asked me about. Helped you out, gave you a second chance, didn't turn you in to the police…it's because as crazy as it sounds, and as unexplainable as it is, I love you too, Bakura. I'm sorry it's taken this long to tell you, but…I never had a chance to before."

Bakura blinked. "You-you do?"

Yami nodded. "Why else did I stick by you? Why do you think I'm here right now?"

Bakura glanced down at his feet. "I dunno, maybe because you're just an overly nice person or something. I always thought you hated me, because I failed. Because I couldn't change. I never figured out how to become a good person."

"Bakura…"

"Don't deny it Yami, you and I used to be mortal enemies. I tried to kill you! I don't know why you decided to give me another chance, maybe you felt sorry for me or something, it really doesn't matter. And as for changing…well, I told you, I just never figured it out…"

"Bakura, there's no way to 'figure out' how to become a good person." Yami replied, smiling. "It just happens, and whether you believe it or not, I think you've become one. I think you've always been one, and you've just been…off-track."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not lying! I mean it. A truly bad person has nothing to live for and nothing to care about. You said that you did. You said that you had me. If you were a bad person, you would have let me die when I was poisoned, but instead you not only saved me, you also saved the world from witnessing what might have become a terrible war, and you _also_ saved a lot of people over in America from being fried by that laser, even if it meant putting yourself at risk. That's true bravery, now tell me if a bad person would have done all that."

"I don't suppose one would. It's just that…oh, forget it."

"What? Tell me!"

"No, it's not a big deal."

"C'mon, tell me, please?"

"I said no, dammit! Arragh, you're the impossible one!" Bakura howled in protest. "You drive me insane!"

"That's funny, I thought you were always insane."

"Okay, dude, now _that _is the oldest joke in the book and it isn't funny."

"Whatever you say." Yami selected another potato chip. "So, back on topic, we need some kind of plan for what to do-"

"Yami…about that…I really don't know about us staying together."

Worried again, Yami defended quickly, "Well, you kept talking like we'd be together too, getting plane tickets and all-"

Bakura looked down at his feet. "Yeah, about that…see, I meant…plane tickets to separate places. I was thinking it might be best if we went our separate ways."

"What? Why?"

"It's just that…well, two people are easier to track than one, and also, this way we could never betray each other if we don't know where each other are, right? Besides, it'd be easier to travel alone, and you know, my crimes are worse than yours, and if you were caught with me, you'd get extra charges tacked on, so you'd be best by yourself-" Bakura was saying all this very fast.

"But, Bakura…you can't possibly go off by yourself with your leg being what it is and your shoulder all shot up. If you ever had to go out in public, you'd draw too much attention. If we were together, I could be the one that went out with a disguise while you stayed in hiding, at least until you healed. And what if you got hurt worse by yourself? With no one to help you, you could be in serious danger. I can't let that happen."

"I could manage just fine, I had worse injuries than this back in Egypt."

"Now you're being stubborn. Yes, you got hurt in Egypt, but it wasn't anything like this. Look at yourself! What if you get an infection? Even a simple cold could take you out right now if you didn't have help. Then again," he added, his voicelaced withirritation, "Idiots can't catch colds, so I guess you don't have anything to worry about in that department."

Bakura glanced at him and coolly raised an eyebrow.

Thoroughly annoyed by Bakura's emotionless reactions, Yami went on, "You need someone to take care of you, I don't care HOW do-it-yourself you are-"

"I don't need babysitting!" Bakura objected, his voice rising again. "Stop worrying about me and think about yourself for once. Concern for me got you into this mess, do you want to end up in deeper shit?"

Yami frowned. "Why is it I'm getting the feeling that's not the main reason why you want us to go separate ways?"

Bakura glanced around the room and stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth, shrugging.

Yami watched this, looking more and more suspicious. "Okay, now I _know_ you're hiding something. Spill it Bakura, what's the real reason?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know I wouldn't understand? Bakura, stop holding back for once and just tell me what is bothering you so much. I love you and I know you care about me, so why are you suggesting we go on our own?"

"Because I think it's too late for love to do anything for us." Bakura finally muttered morosely. "I say I love you and you say you love me but Yami…it's too late."

"What do you mean, 'too late'?"

"Think about it Yami, just think about it…there's no such thing as love that lasts. It's all an illusion and it'll fade. Think about all the things I did to you. I know why you tried to hurt me, because I attacked you first, but there is still NO excuse for what I did to you and your friends. At one time you wanted to kill me, you hated me more than anything else. There is no way you can forget all that stuff, Yami. You say you love me, but…those memories are still going to be there in your mind. If you had it in your heart to hate me once, that hate is still there." He shook his head. "There's too much between us. We know too much about each other. Maybe if things had been different, if Akunadin had picked a different village to sacrifice, if a different person had been pharaoh, if _something_ in our pasts was changed…maybe then we'd have a chance at some sort of relationship. But no way Yami, it's just too late. Love won't take us off the "Wanted" list. Love won't give us back the normal lives that we lost. That sappy myth about love being able to solve anything gets real old real fast. Give it a week and we'll be biting each other's heads off and trying to turn each other in to the police. It will just never work out. It's too late to change what's happened, you know it and I know it. So let's get some sleep, and go our separate ways tomorrow."

"You really think that?" Yami asked. "You really think it's too late?"

"Duh. I just told you what I thought."

"Bakura, I know we've had a weird past…to say the least. I know we were enemies, and that basically fate just pitted us against each other. But despite all of that, somehow we both ended up here, together."

"It's all a fluke or something. We're not meant to be together, Yami." Bakura snapped. "I told you. It doesn't matter if it's in three days or in thirty years, one day our past will come back to haunt us, and the hatred you always had for me will always be there. It'll never work out. It doesn't matter if we ended up here, it'll still never work out. Two people cannot live on love alone. It sounds real pretty and all, but it's not realistic."

"But I know why you did what you did, and it was nothing I could blame you for now. And anyway, you know the way you reacted was wrong, and you're sorry for what you've done-"

"What if I told you I wasn't sorry?" Bakura suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"What if I told you I wasn't sorry for all the stuff I put you guys through?" He repeated. "What if I told you that if I could go back, I wouldn't change anything, I'd do it all over again. I'd put you guys through hell again if I could. Because that's how I felt about it. And all those people I killed for Issei? I don't have any remorse for them either. I don't have a heart Yami, I never did and never will, and even if I did have one, I wouldn't know what to do with it. Your saving my life and giving me a second chance doesn't mean I owe you, Yami. Like it or not, you didn't change me."

"I never expected you to owe me any-" Yami began, but not before Bakura cut him off.

"Nothing's changed. Nothing will change, because all of this cannot last. You know full well that under whatever you're saying now, you still remember all the terrible things I did to you. You just said you loved me. Can you still say it to me now that you know the truth?"

Yami said nothing, just glanced down toward the floor. Bakura rolled out of his lap onto the second sleeping bag and lay down, his back to Yami. "Think about it tonight. I'm going to sleep, and all things considered, I really think it would be best if you clear out. You can take the Tonfa Blasters if you want, they're upgraded and you might need some weapons. You'd do better on your own. Forget me, forget what I said about loving you, forget what you said about loving me, just forget all of this, and run for yourself."

"Bakura…"

He got no reply, and didn't bother to try to say anything else. Instead he got up, put away the food and first aid kit, and blew out the candles, plunging the bunker into darkness.

Maybe Bakura had a point.

* * *

When Bakura woke up, he couldn't think of much else besides the pain in his shoulder. It was only after he crawled over to the first aid kit to fetch a painkiller, poured himself some water out of the large tank, and returned to sit on the sleeping bag that he was able to think about the events of the night. The room was fairly well lit now that it was morning, he must not have closed the trap door properly the night before, as light was shining in around the edges. The good news, he supposed, was that the police weren't busting into the bunker, so they clearly hadn't found it yet. He'd hidden the car he'd stolen quite well so that no one could use search dogs to follow his scent from it, and it seemed that Yami had hidden his car just as well. Thinking of this reminded him of their conversation, and he glanced over to where Yami had put his sleeping bag.

That was when Bakura realized that Yami was gone. The sleeping bag was folded in a neat square, and Bakura's bloody shirt was folded just as neatly beside it, but there was no trace of Yami to be found. His shoes were gone, his jacket was gone, even the Tonfa Blasters were missing. There was a bucket turned upside down under the trap door, probably he'd used it as a step to hoist himself up.

_He really…he really left. _Bakura thought numbly. _I can't believe it. _Suddenly feeling dizzy, he put his good hand down to steady himself. His palm didn't hit the floor, however, instead it came to rest on the barrel of the Uzi. He lifted it in surprise. The night before, Bakura recalled having set it down, still spattered with blood, over by the door. But now it lay beside his sleeping bag, all clean and shiny again. A towel decorated with streaks of blood lay nearby. Yami must have cleaned it off at some point and moved it over beside him. Maybe this was hisidea of a farewell gift. Bakura blinked, somewhat sadly. Sure, he'd been serious the night before, but he hadn't actually expected to wake up and find that Yami had, for once, listened to him. And now that he had…Bakura wished he could take it all back.

_Yami…I didn't really want you to leave…_ Bakura thought in despair, squeezing his eyes shut. _I didn't think you'd really go…if I'd known you were really going to be such a smartass about it and take me at my word, I wouldn't have said those things! I'm sorry, I wish I could take it back, Yami. I wish you were still here…_

Quite suddenly, he heard the sound of the trap door opening and falling shut, and then, like a dream, Yami's voice:

"Oh, you're awake! Good morning Bakura. Did you sleep well?"

Bakura's eyes shot open and he looked up to see Yami standing before him, wiping his hands on a handkerchief, the Tonfa Blasters around his waist, his missing shoes on his feet. He stowed the kerchief in his pocket and shrugged out of his jacket. "It's still pretty early. Kind of chilly out, actually. I'll be sure to buy you a jacket when I go to the store later." His eyes fell on the Uzi. "Oh, I cleaned the Uzi off for you too, did you notice? I know I probably didn't do as good a job as you would have, but I woke up early and was bored." He smiled. "It'll warm up more in an hour or so. You can go down to one of the beaches on the coast and wash that blood off. There probably won't be any people to see you. The police are likely looking for us in the city. There's a small stream nearby if you wanted to splash your face, but what you really need is a good bath." He observed Bakura for a moment. "How does your shoulder feel? And your leg? I know you did a lot of running last night."

Bakura was having a hard time making himself think. One minute he was sure Yami had left him and they'd never meet again, and now here Yami was after all, clearly in a good mood given his chattiness, not acting at all like a man with a broken heart who'd been running away. Why was he here? Had he changed his mind and come back?

"Yami…you're actually here." They were the only words he could come up with.

"Of course I'm here." Yami said, sounding puzzled. "I'm sorry if I woke you up when I went outside, I had to go to the bathroom. Issei apparently didn't get to finish the utilities on this place, but no matter." He kicked his shoes off and placed them side-by-side against the wall. "If you need to go out at all, be sure to put your boots on, there's some bur plants around here that would really hurt if you stepped on them." He warned as he unsnapped the holster belt. "Oh, and I took the Tonfa Blasters, in case I saw any police or anything and had to keep them quiet." He patted the weapons. "But I didn't, so no worries, it seems like we're still in the clear. I'll go shopping as soon as the stores open, and we can pack up whatever we need from here, and then go find ourselves a better hiding place. Further up in the mountains there are caves, those would be dry if it rained. I wonder though if they would be too obvious…"

"So-you were just outside. To use the bathroom." Bakura repeated.

"Yeah." Yami sounded even more puzzled and gave Bakura an odd look. "It's perfectly normal. You're acting very strange Bakura. Do you feel alright? Maybe I gave you too big a dose of antibiotics last night…"

"And that was all, I mean, you weren't…there was no other reason…" Bakura continued.

"No, I just had to-" Yami suddenly understood and grinned broadly. "You thought I'd left, didn't you?"

"No." Bakura said quickly, then hesitated. "Well-it might have crossed my mind…"

"That's why you looked so upset when I came back, you thought I'd really taken you at your word and left." He was almost laughing. "Gosh Bakura, don't give yourself so much credit! You really thought I was going to fall for all that "it's too late" stuff? You're so melodramatic."

Bakura looked down at the floor, very quiet now. Yami suddenly felt guilty and knelt down.

"Oh no…Bakura, I'm sorry-I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Bakura shook his head wildly. "No, no, I mean, if you'd left, it wouldn't have bothered me-but-" He was clearly struggling to take everything in. "But-I just-I said those things to you-I thought-"

"Don't you worry about that. I'm not going to leave you."

"But what about what I said last night?"

"Yeah, I thought about that for awhile, like you told me to." Yami replied. Bakura fell silent and looked up at him. "And I thought of an answer."

"And that is…?"

"The answer is that now I _know_ I can't leave."

"I don't understand."

"Look Bakura, if you can be that honest with me, then I want to be honest with you. And that's that I can't explain this anymore than you could. I can't explain why I feel the way I do, I can't explain why my feelings changed. I never gave you a second thought until you disappeared, and suddenly…everything was different. But…if you didn't really love me, or if you really hadn't changed, you would have lied. You would have told me something else. But you told me the truth. The truth is all I want, and you gave it to me. And because of that…I know you really care about me."

Bakura wasn't sure he understood the logic, but something else was bothering him more anyway. "…But the way I feel doesn't matter, Yami. I told you, it won't work out."

"Yes it does. Because I love you no matter what stupid things you've done." Impulsively, he reached out and embraced Bakura, bandages, blood-encrusted hair, and all. "And you can't talk your way out of it. I'm here, and I'm going to _stay_ here. I think we'll make a great team if we work together. I think we can make it. We can stay in hiding, we can find a way to disappear, and our past isn't going to ruin what we've spent so much time protecting. You've got a heart, Bakura. I know you do, and you have a future. I want to share that future with you. And your heart too, if you'll let me."

Bakura slowly raised his head to eye level with Yami. "You mean it?"

"You think I'd say it if I didn't?"

"I don't know, this is all just too weird-"

Bakura cut himself off as he realized just how close Yami's eyes suddenly seemed. For the first time, he was able to study those irises up close and it wasn't till this moment that he realized there were flecks of pink and red and even a little bit of blue buried inside the purple. He vaguely wondered why Yami's eyes were so close when he remembered that he'd been sitting on the floor and Yami had knelt down to hug him. It made sense their faces would be close together. Or maybe it was his imagination. Quite suddenly his mind wasn't working anyway, it seemed to have frozen up without warning, and he couldn't think logically.

And in the middle of all that, as if his mind wasn't muddled up enough, Yami chose to kiss him.

Bakura's first instinct was to jerk away with a startled, "Eh?", but before he could he realized that those emotions he'd been having were back, and that was when he discovered he was enjoying the moment. Everything was silent around him, and peaceful too; his pain was far away, and his nagging worries had vanished. He'd never have guessed that being kissed felt this nice. And, oddly enough, he felt a red blushing spread over his nose and cheeks when he thought of it.

"Yami…I-"

Yami had a gentle sort of look about his face, and although he felt incredibly shocked by his daring, it looked like the chance had been worth it. "Is this enough proof for you? I don't care how many police are after us, I don't care how much danger we're in, I'm not going to let you run on your own anymore."

Bakura could think of nothing, absolutely nothing to say to that. Perhaps it was still the shock of being kissed, but for some reason everything he'd been thinking about was all blurred together in his mind and he wasn't entirely sure he could think of a coherent sentence. He wasn't sure he _wanted _to think of a coherent sentence. Or what he would say if he did. Should he say thank you? I'm sorry? Make up some type of cynical insult to avoid saying anything dumb? He couldn't think of a single thing. But when he heard Yami's words, it didn't matter, because suddenly-without even thinking-he smiled.

Yami could hardly believe it. He had never seen Bakura smile like this before. It wasn't a sneer or a smirk or even his trademark evil grin. It was a real smile, the sort a person doesn't even have to think about to create. The sort that reaches even into the deepest depths of someone's eyes and lights them up, makes them sparkle even. It felt even stranger to Bakura. But instead of rejecting the new feeling, he welcomed it. It was like he'd found something he'd lost; something that he'd used to cherish a long time ago but had never regained until now, hadn't even realized he was missing till this moment.

Without having to say anything, they embraced again and met in another kiss. The room was silent, but it wasn't eerie at all. The silence was welcome too. They didn't need any words.

* * *

Even though Issei hadn't been able to finish the utilities on the bunker, (Yami was quick to point out a lack of trash disposal as well), it had its good points. It was stocked well with all the sorts of supplies that two run-away convicts would need. So that afternoon while Bakura and Yami rested, (Bakura had just returned from sneaking to a beach to wash the blood off, and the latter had simultaneously snuck into town in a make-shift disguise to buy clothes and various medical supplies), Bakura made a proposal.

"You know, instead of staying in Japan just long enough to find a way to leave, maybe we should stay in the country after all. The police probably won't expect us to hang around. We could just go find a nice, lesser populated prefecture, out in farm country or the mountains or something, and build ourselves someplace to live out there. We could see about making some alternate identities, and maybe eventually could contact your friends for some help. It would be nice, no one around to bug me…"

"You think so?"

"It's an idea. Not all of this country is cities, I'm sure there's a small town someplace that'd welcome us in without asking too many questions. Maybe down south, it'd be warmer down there too. We'd have to disguise ourselves and make up fake names and stuff, but with some luck and some sneakiness, of which I have enough for both of us, we could make it."

"It sounds nice." Yami mused. "That sounds peaceful. I like it. Besides, that sure beats trying to leave the country without getting caught." He smiled. "You sure have some peaceful ideals for a sociopath."

"Would you stop it with the sociopath jabs?" Bakura demanded. "I'm just trying to be productive here."

"I'm sorry. But really, I like your idea."

"Serious?"

"Of course. If I hated it, I would have said so. Just because you're my boyfriend, that doesn't mean I have to lie. If your plan sucks, I'll tell you. We aren't in the position to have shitty plans right now, in case you haven't noticed."

"Boyfriend?" Bakura asked.

Yami raised an eyebrow. "Do you not like that word? Would you prefer something else more endearing? That isn't like you."

"No, no…I like it." Bakura replied quickly.

Yami gave him an odd look, but continued anyway, "Well, I think your plan's a good one. We should certainly try it first. As long as you haven't changed your mind again, and aren't going to start on with trying to convince me to leave." Daringly, he put his arm around Bakura's good shoulder and added, "Because you ought to know by now that it won't work."

Bakura leaned into Yami's side with a grin. "Not a problem here. Besides, I've got the Uzi if you decide to become a pain."

"I've got the Tonfa Blasters."

"Don't make me laugh, I could so out-shoot you."

"Except that you're out of bullets."

"I could call Jared and fix that! I don't suppose gun shops sell to wanted felons…but I bet Jar would order me some. Besides, you couldn't aim those Blasters to save your life." He added haughtily.

"Then maybe you ought to teach me. I like them. We could practice out in the mountains. If we're going to be on the run, I'd better know how something about guns. And you can explain to me what 'automatic' means."

"Really?" Bakura brightened at the idea of a student. "Hey, that's great, I think I've been a good influence on you."

Yami looked uncertain. "Either that, or a horrible one…"

"Don't be starting that again…!"

As they teased each other it occurred to Bakura that, despite the fact that he was running from the police and would spend the rest of his life this way, that somehow it didn't matter so much. He just had the feeling that somehow, someway, they could make it. Sure, he was a bit leery about how strange it was, a small part of his mind still wondered if a relationship between two mortal enemies was possible. But he brushed aside the doubts this time. The future seemed so irrelevant. All that mattered now was living for the day, the week at the most. There was no time for panicking.

And he realized something now that he'd never considered before, but was the answer to a question hehad often wondered about.How he couldlook over to his side and see Yami sitting there with him, and how when Yami smiled he would find himself smiling back, and how much less things hurt when he had someone to comfort him…that he'd really found something more important than pride and more important than glory, that he'd found love and it felt unlike anything he could ever remember…

Maybe, just being able to feel all this and being able to finally return those feelings; maybe this was the true purpose of having a heart.

The End

* * *

Author's Notes:

7000 yen is about 66 dollars. Not nearly enough to live on. Those guys need to think of a plan to make some money. But Bakura does have his bank account…there is that.

Where the hell I got 'Mariku' from: I often use 'Mariku' for light Marik's name, since that's how his name, (in katakana anyway), is spelled in the manga, plus that's how my friend Hezaa-kun spells it, and I learned the Japanese terms from her. Basically, it's just my way of differentiating between him and the evil guy. In this case, Yami was talking about the good one.

"Idiots can't catch colds"- Obviously Yami was using the moment to call Bakura an idiot, and I add that Yami had every right to do so, but also there's a Japanese saying that idiots don't catch colds, and since this is set in Japan, it seemed appropriate. Thank the Gravitation DVDs and the linear notes for this bit of info!

I'd also like to make note of something that the fic was leading up to. Recall how throughout the fic, Bakura continuously insisted that Yami was not his 'boyfriend'? The reason for this was revealed here. He said such things because, however much he loved Yami, he never dreamed a relationship would work out for them, and so therefore Yami could never be his 'boyfriend'. His crush maybe, but nothing more. That's why he'd get upset if someone said 'boyfriend'. But, now that his fears have been cleared up, and that Yami has accepted him and loves him just as he is…well, Bakura doesn't have that aversion anymore. You probably picked up his change of heart, (pun intended), about the word, but I wanted to explain why, here.

Enough of the technical stuff. Kyaaaaaaaa! I can't believe this is the end of the fic! Twenty-three chapters. This is the longest fic I have ever written, and it underwent a lot of changing. The original was sorta like a tragedy, (Bakura died to save Yami); the second had too happy of an ending, (it was too typical, it ended in the hospital like my last three fics did, I wasn't going to use the same ending AGAIN.), and this is the final product…I think it's the best of the three. Although, 'tis true, I enjoy a good tragedy. But this fic went through too much to just kill off Bakura and possibly Yami too, (I thought about him committing suicide after Bakura died…but that was just too brutal), at the end. That'd have been sorta pointless. 'Worst Ending' Hall of Fame and such, since it wasn't even leading up to that and no one wanted to see them die.

I was thinking of trying to find a way to make this go on and on…maybe detail Yami and Bakura's subsequent adventures on their journey to find a safe place to live, and they would have had to leave each other for some reason of course, for the angst factor, and then some other stuff would have happened and they would have ended up finding each other again, (of course), and then something else could happen…there'd be lots of twist ideas, I was toying with all sorts of things…so yeah, it could have been made longer, much longer. I was truly, _truly_ tempted. If this was to go on and on though, I'd need to bring in a new villain to keep the mystery element. (Which, I had an idea for, to my credit.) Either that, or make a war start after all, but I don't know how to write for the Japanese military, (or any military for that matter, though I might be able to employ my friend Chris-chan on the matter, as he is studying for the Navy…), and I didn't want to blunder it up. And anyway, I'm really not sure if you guys could take much more of Bakura and Yami, cute as they are. Maybe a sequel someday. There's a serious lack of decent, ('decent' meaning an sl BESIDES them just having sex in every chapter), Darkshipping fics at this site, so I'd like to bring this couple back and give them another fic all to themselves one day. And this ended at a place that could easily be expanded upon, so hey, a sequel is very likely, someplace in the future.

ANYWAY, I hope you liked the end, as well as the fic in general and all its good and bad times. It garnered less reviews that I'd expected, given its length, but I think that's because Bakura-Yami is a very uncommon pair, and with few supporters. But it's quality of reviewers and reviews that counts, not quantity. As long as those that did read this enjoyed it, that's all I need to be happy. This was the usual overly-long last chapter. :niko: Gotta love 'em. It's a little bit different than other last chapters…others I tend to tie up all the loose ends nice and pretty because Kami-sama knows how annoying it is when you've got hanging sls. But this one I purposely left a bit open-ended, because for one thing, it's a mystery, and everyone knows good mysteries should end with some of the mystery still left. For another reason, it's merely more fun. It leaves an unknown, wild future open for Bakura and Yami, and I didn't want to chain them back in any way.

So yeah, it's been fun. I like the way this ended. It came out better than I'd hoped for, to be honest, so I'm hoping that you've all enjoyed it, and that you liked it. :smile: Awrighty, send me the final reviews!

And, on the subject of them, here are the last replies of the fic:

Fear of Falling: Eeek…indeed, where did I come up with all that sickening ramble? You don't really want to know. xD Aw, but sickening ramble IS rather fun…Oh, and thanks for reviewing Road Trip for me! O.o no way! xD Now you can read Chain Letter II and see it in a whole new light. I've got an updated copy of Road Trip that I'm planning to post, maybe today if there's time, so if you'd like to read it as well…yeah, it'll be there too. Uzis RULE! I'm glad you liked my review for _Constants_. I know how the plot bunny bites…always in the middle of the night. ALWAYS. Or else in a place when one's computer is inaccessible. 'Tis insane. But really, I think you've got mad skills going on with that. Awwww…I feel special now! Thanks!

Hershey-Kiss: O.o Sounds…colourful. At least that's mildly interesting, though I doubt the sprained ankle is really much fun. Ah, Series 0! You got it? Yeah, it's very cool indeed…I based Reia loosely on the nurse Miyuki from episode 16, actually. I'm glad you liked her…she was one of my lucky OCs. She didn't die! xD Bakura wearing Yami's pants is fairly amusing…especially since they would probably be too short, which provokes a very amusing mental image, actually. It'd make a good fanart, or perhaps a doujinshi. Yeah, that, or an AC/DC shirt. This kid at school has one that'd fit him perfectly. Bakura would do well in an AC/DC shirt. Any sort of heavy metal, really.

You Know Us: Yeah, Bakura was getting fairly bored in there…he's having much more fun now, I'm sure. xD No longer need I fear Michelle-chan coming after me, because Yami and Bakura are safe, (in a general sense of the word), and are together, so she's happy, yes? And you too, yes? Good! Yami…steal a car? Yeah, and at gunpoint too! I always knew he was crafty…sneaky lil' bugger…maybe Bakura is corrupting him. Tsk tsk. Love makes us all crazy. Now PLEASE tell me Michelle isn't going to get jealous of Bakura since he got the kiss. Then again…she doesn't have a crush on Yami, so that really shouldn't be a problem…right? Besides…Bakura deserved to at least get a kiss after all that. I mean really.

I hope you all have a great summer, and to see you the next fic around! I don't have one actually planned yet, but I'm sure eventually I'll come up with something and I'll get it posted. For now I might just concentrate on the Family Reunion remake. (It's a YugixYami, or as they call it, a "Puzzleshipping", fic.) Since it's already written, all I have to do is change the parts I want changed, and then repost it. Plus, it's only eight chapters long. It'd be like a little side project while I considered the next major project. As an added bonus, I'm in the mood to write something for those two. But you never know. I'm more in the mood to write like, a thirty-chapter long, angst-romance fic, soap-opera style, (ei: throwing every possible hardship into the mix), for them. But I've also got a few people prodding me to write the final installment of the UCL-BCD series and to bring back Sorcha and Shane, someone else that wants to see a fic that involves _all_ the charrahs, a third person looking for another humour fic of some type, and I've had various other requests for certain pairings or main characters. To my credit, I have written out summaries for each of these ideas, and they are under review, waiting for inspiration to strike. Or, maybe I'll be lazy and write another songfic, those are always fun. Or maybe I'll be _really_ lazy and take the summer off. xD Anyhoo, whatever it ends up being, I hope this fic won't be the last time I hear from you all. :smile:

Anyway everyone, once again; have a great summer, stay safe and I'll see you around!

Mata!

Chey (Fated-Shadows)

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_The Purpose of a Heart_ Thanks:

Takahashi Kazuki: Without him, we wouldn't have Yugioh! And besides, he's nice enough to let fanwriters do unspeakable things to his charrahs, and twist up their personalities. (I'm so guilty of this…) I mean, some authors specifically request that their charrahs not be used in fanwriting. Takahashi-sama was nice enough not to do that.

Carl Hiaasen, Maki Murakami, Yozaburo Kanari and Fumiya Sato: The masters of mystery, satire, crazy characters, and all-around mayhem. If I ever become half as good a writer as any of them, I'd be forever happy. A little bit of each of their style snuck into this story as it was getting on with, and they also have inspired a few of my characters. Among them: Blair was created from Pedro Luz from Hiaasen, Louis is a combination of a Murakami and Kanari-Sato-like character, (he reminds me a bit of Shuichi, actually…), Bakura's personality is much like K's from Murakami, (I ADORE K!), the name of "Issei" was inspired by Himuro Issei from Sato-Kanari, the scene where Bakura has to sit in Yami's lap so that Yami can patch him up is adapted from a scene in Gravitation where Shuichi had to sit in a similarly embarrassing position, the laser idea was also inspired by Murakami when K blew up the N-G building with one…(now THAT was freakin' cool…)

Hiro Mashima: He was the original creator of the Tonfa Blaster as I know it. Well, anyway, I got the idea for the handheld firearms from him. They're sleek, simple, and very Bakura-esque. I even designed my own brand and style of Tonfa Blasters especially for this fic. I made them a cute little logo and everything. :niko: I suggest reading his manga, "Rave Master", as it is really funny and sweet and everything in-between the two. Watch the anime too! 'Tis very good. Keep an eye out for Elie, cause she'll be the one carrying the Tonfas.

And of course, most of all, everyone that ever reviewed! The loyal fans that followed this fic through are what kept it alive and going. You guys are the best. :watery shoujo eyes: I love you all!


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